Landlords invest a lot in their properties, often putting in both sizeable financial investments and significant time investments. They need to protect their investments -- and themselves -- from potential risks. Landlord insurance provides landlords in Massachusetts with protection from a number of covered risks.
Landlord insurance policies are a specialized type of property insurance. They’re specifically designed for people who rent out residential properties, which may include single-family homes, townhomes, apartments, or other multi-unit structures.
Like most kinds of insurance policies, the protections offered by landlord policies can vary. Most policies, however, provide two main protections: landlord property insurance coverage and landlord liability insurance coverage.
Landlord property insurance coverage helps protect the property a landlord owns from certain perils that could cause damage. Depending on a policy’s terms and conditions, it might offer protection from fire, burglaries, windstorms, lightning and similar risks. These protections may only be offered for a property’s primary structure, or they might be extended to secondary structures (e.g. detached garages, sheds, fences, etc.).
Landlord liability insurance coverage helps protect landlords from possible liability lawsuits that tenants or others could file. For instance, if a tenant was injured on a leased property because the property wasn’t properly maintained, they might file a lawsuit and a policy may cover the suit. When suits are covered, landlord liability insurance coverage will typically cover any associated legal fees, judgements and settlements.
Along with these two primary protections, there are some other protections that landlord policies may offer:
Landlord policies are generally designed to protect only landlords. Their coverages typically don’t extend to tenants or belongings that tenants own. Tenants can obtain their own insurance through renters policies.
Most people who rent residential property in Massachusetts should consider getting a landlord policy. While having an LLC or other business structure may provide some protection from lawsuits, insurance offers an additional layer coverage. Additionally, the coverages offered by insurance is different from that provided by a business structure.
In some cases, landlords may be required to carry a landlord policy. While landlords usually aren’t legally obligated to be insured, those who have loans may find terms in their loan that require them to be insured. Lenders frequently include such a requirement so that their financial interest in a rented building is protected.
Insurance providers take into account many factors when they calculate landlord policies’ premiums. Some of the factors they consider include:
For help finding landlord insurance, landlords should contact an independent insurance agent in Massachusetts. An independent insurance agent can help with coverage selection, and they can request quotes for landlord policies from several insurers. After receiving several quotes, an agent can help select the policy that best suits a landlord's situation.
5 Whittier Street, #4
Framingham, MA 01701
Phone: 508-656-1400
29 Main Street
Leominster, MA 01453
Phone: 978-343-6946
This material is for informational purposes only. All statements herein are subject to the provisions, exclusions and conditions of the applicable policy, state and federal laws. For an actual description of coverage, terms and conditions, please refer to the applicable insurance policy or check with your insurance professional. The illustrations, instructions and principles contained in the material are general in scope and, to the best of our knowledge, current at the time of publication.