Landlord Insurance vs. Homeowners Insurance

Landlord insurance and homeowners insurance are similar in many ways but they have their share of dissimilarities. Many landlords wonder if they should stick with an existing homeowner’s insurance policy or they should get landlord insurance. In short, it is fair to say that landlord insurance is desirable if a home is being rented out. Whether or not a landlord is living in the same property that is being rented out, if the landlord is renting out a property he or she has been living in or there is any connection between the two are not influential factors here. There are several advantages that landlord insurance has which make it more beneficial.

Landlord Insurance

First, landlord insurance offers coverage in case of loss or damage to property owing to vandalism and other acts. Typical homeowner insurance doesn’t offer any coverage pertaining to such a situation. The general rule is that if a homeowner is not residing in a property for 30 days or more and the property has been vacant then there is no coverage. In case of landlord insurance, no such clauses exist in landlord insurance. Besides, this dwelling coverage clause is more lenient in landlord insurance and can easily be used in case there are renters.

Homeowner’s Insurance

Second, homeowners’ insurance doesn’t provide sufficient coverage to movable assets that may or may not be in a rental property. Most homeowner’s insurance policies offer coverage for immovable assets. Every fixed part of the property or the property in its entirety itself is covered but objects like home appliances, furniture and any fixtures that may be in the property are not covered. With landlord insurance, all such items and appliances can be covered under the personal property coverage clause.

Distinct Differences

Third, homeowner’s insurance doesn’t have any clause that compensates for loss of use of the property if it is not a primary residence. A rental property, in most cases, is anyway not the primary residence of a landlord. Thus, if a tenant is unable to stay in the property due to some causes that have made the property to be uninhabitable till the time the problem is fixed, the tenant has to move out and stay somewhere. Such costs have to be borne by the landlord in most cases and a landlord insurance policy can come to rescue in such circumstances.

There are many such clauses and inclusions in landlord insurance which are either exempted or there are no provisions for the same in homeowner’s insurance.