insurance question. Can you get a landlord policy instead of the standard home owners policy?
I live in my home and own my home. I recieved an excellent quote for a landlord policy rather than homeowners insurance policy. What are the differences of coverage between the two policies and is there any chance of trouble in the future if I choose a landlord policy over a homeowners policy?…Is that legal?
I am in Texas
the thing I have been truthful and the insurance company has come out and took pictures. They said they could do this legally …I didn’t ask for this policy…I am being begged to switch!
“Landlord” policies differ from “Homeowner” policies in that the Landlord is insured against property damage caused by his/her tenants. Homeowners have no tenants. Maybe if you rented out a room to someone, you just might qualify for a Landlord type of policy.
Should you misrepresent yourself on your application, and the insurance broker finds out about it – and they have inspectors that could come out and look at your property to evaluate its value – your policy could be revoked or altered to reflect its true state.
Worst case scenario: You could be slapped with a lawsuit for misrepresentation.
That would be insurance fraud.
Yes, but why would you want to??
YOUR AGENT can tell you the differences.
But the basic one is, a landlord policy is CAFETERIA style. You get – coverage on the building. You don’t get ANYTHING ELSE, unless you add it to the policy. No loss of use, no contents, no liability, NOTHING.
There are three basic landlord forms in TX, and two basic homeowners forms in TX. It’s impossible to compare the two quotes, without knowing which FORMS they are on.
Usually landlord policy is cheaper, because there’s a hell of a lot less coverage on it. If you endorse the policy to add all the coverages that there are on a homeowners, then it ends up costing a lot MORE.
Whoever is begging you to switch, is most likely doing you wrong. It’s NEVER a good idea to switch from a better policy to a worse one, just because it’s cheap. I’m not sure you can count on them to explain exactly how the policy they are recommending, is less coverage than the one you have. Clearly, they just want the sale.
What they are doing is legal. But it’s not ETHICAL, and come claim time, when you’re not paid . .. . they’ll be flipping burgers at McDonalds.
Bottom line here is….do you want your contents(i.e., furniture, clothes, bake ware, towels) of your home covered if there is a loss? That’s the difference between the two. The Rental dwelling(landlord) policy covers just the building itself and that is it. I hope you don’t live in a tornado or hurricane zone of TX…..unless you have $$$ put away to repurchase the contents of your home in the event of a total loss. I would not switch if I were you. If your company/agent is begging you to switch…you should look for another company that cares a little more that everything you have is covered at 100%. Good luck!
Check out this web site to compare policies
http://www.opic.state.tx.us/hoic.php
homeinsurance.awardspace.us – try this one. Got my home insurance from them. As I know they provide such a service.