Hi All
I am currently reviewing my insurance policies and looking at ways to get the best outcome, I am finding it extremely difficult to understand how they work.What I do know is that I am paying approximately $1000 per annum per property this is typically 2200 sq home, 5-10 year old prop, vinyl siding, $500,000 limited liability.
Also, how the insurance companies establish the actual value of the properties seem to be all over the place and no logic to this whatsoever.
It would make life simple if one policy covered vacant/tenanted property which is not the case.
Can anyone recommend an insurance company that provides competitive rates and user fiendly systems. It makes sense to have all my policies with one insurance company and hopefully this will help reduce the costs.
Just gotta find the right company.Cheers, WI
Hi WorldInvestor, I sent you an email with the contact details of an insurance broker in Georgia.
All the best
wi
send me an e mail we have 200 plus doors I work through this weekly be glad to help you
JLH
Would also be interested in these contacts if possible, ta.
Ziv Nakajima-Magen | Nippon Tradings International (NTI)
http://www.nippontradings.com
Email Me | Phone MeZiv Nakajima-Magen - Partner & Executive Manager, Asia-Pacific @ NTI - Japan Real-Estate Investment Property
jayhinrichs wrote:wi send me an e mail we have 200 plus doors I work through this weekly be glad to help you JLH [email protected]Hi Jay
yes I will shoot you an email.I have had one quote to date, by placing all houses on one policy can make a substantial saving around $2400 pa which is excellent, also with a blended policy this means you do not have to take out a policy when the house is vacant, so set and forget.
Thanks
WI
WI,
Be EXTEMELY careful of a vacant house…Most policies have an exclusion after 2 months. and some 30 days.
I am sure you will read the fine print…. Many an investor has had a bad day when the insurance company denies their claim based on vacancy.
JLH
Ok, thanks.
I find the US insurance policies shocking, as you pretty much need your house to burn down, otherwise the policies are useless from what I can see.You guys in US call it "deductables", very, very high…….. we call it an "Excess" and generally you nominate, I guess the norm would be $200.
My understanding in US if you claim your premium goes through the roof anyway….. you are damned if you do and damned if you don't.
You guys get screwed whichever way you look at it.
You really need to look at the way we do things here in Australia, we play nice…..WI
Agreed,
this is why when I get my portfolio to a certain size I will only carry liablity… Much cheaper to self insure against fire and other malicous things,
Plus we have a standard of care for our properties that no property manager can come close to duplicating, since we only manage what we own,,, we are right on top of any home that has any issues or would be come vacant.
Problem you can have in the US… Is you can have a tenant leave, not notify you and the house has sat vacant for a week or two and thats all it takes for your condensing unit to take a walk,,, maybe kids get into it.. etc etc.
In the inner city type properties it can be hours literally,,
Even in our nice stuff in Atlanta we do not bring in any heating air condition, stove refer diswasher etc, until the day the tenant moves in.
Its a real issue here in the states… there are places its not an issue like here in Portland Or… or better parts of any of the bigger cities but you have to be in 200k or so and up housing to get that security…As there are mainly homeowners watching out for each other.
Hi Worldinvestor,
Hi Nyc88,We (husband & wife) are looking to enter US property market and would probably start with Atlanta. I've seen your exchange of views/ information and wondering if you are able to share the ff info:
Agent
Property Manager
Attorney
Insurance
and other info that would consider vital in decision making (e.g. your experience dealing with US agents).Appreciate your help and you in advance.
If you could pm, that will be great!
Best regards,
Hi mpinvestor, I’ve just sent you a PM.
Hi WI,
I agree, US landlords insurance does suck! I have policies with AllState and State Farm and both of them won’t cover vacant properties after 30-60 days. I have found a company called American Modern which offers vacant property insurance, but I haven’t used them.
With regards to the cover, make sure you get a minimum DP-3 cover, as you are covering the Replacement Cost rather than the Actual Cash Value, should your property burn down.
Rlillycrop
This is one thing that has really worried me when I hear of companies taking 3 months to reno and another 3 to locate tenants… Unless you have a buiilders RISK policy or specific vacant property rider.. All these people are uninsured after 60 days… I am sure the people selling them the homes either do not know this or neglect to share this very important point.
I just got another call from a off shore Detroit investor… And sure enough his house was vacant for 4 months it had a fire and burnt completly to the ground and he is now the proud owner of a 55k pile of ruble and a lot that has zero value.. Insurance denied the claim as his insurance ran out at 60 days.
Of course its only an issue if you have a problem…
Hi Jay
You are right, I think any landlord that has closed already and is looking at several weeks rehab, should get a builders risk policy. I just had a look a Zurich’s site and a rough quote came out at $375 with a $1000 deductible on a $60k property. Here’s the link:
http://www.insurancelinkdirect.com/buildersrisk/home.php
Then once the lease is signed, they could swap over to a standard landlords policy. Zurich also do commercial property insurance, with vacancy cover. But I couldn’t see if it covered residential properties as well.
Interesting thread.
I have a few properties in Atlanta which I have taken out policies through a major insurance company, and have bought another property this week, only to be told that the minimum deductible (excess) is now going to be $5,000 (previously $1,000), which to me is a way of them saying they don’t want any more of my rental property business.
NYC88 – would you be able to PM the name of your insurance broker in GA ?
Thanks.
this does not sound right,,,
Thank you NYC88, Rixstar and others! Appreciate your valuable inputs.
All the best!
Thank you NYC88, Rixstar and others! Appreciate your valuable inputs.
All the best!
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