If you’re turning a home into a rental property, you’ll generally need landlord insurance. Sometimes called rental property insurance or dwelling insurance, it’s typically required if you have a mortgage on your rental property.
Landlord insurance will cover your rental property and protect your income and liability.
Here’s what you need to know about landlord insurance, including what it is, who needs it, and the best companies offering this type of policy right now. (See our methodology to learn how we made our selections.)
Best for apartment buildings: biBerk
Who’s this for: If you own an apartment building with many units, biBerk’s array of policies can fit the unique needs of a landlord. In addition to property coverage and liability protection, you can also get other business coverages like workers compensation, which you’d need if you want to hire employees in the future to grow your business, like a dedicated maintenance person or property manager.
Standout benefits: biBerk also offers commercial auto insurance to cover maintenance vehicles and business umbrella insurance to cover your liability.
biBerk Landlord Insurance
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Policy highlights
For those looking to scale their property ownership, biBerk’s commercial and residential landlord insurance policies can cover properties affordably and effectively. Policies can also include workers’ compensation insurance and other coverage types that are essential for those who are expanding their business and hiring employees.
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Types of properties covered
Apartment buildings, commercial properties, single-family rentals
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Liability coverage limits
Pros
- Also offers other business insurance like business owners policies and workers compensation insurance
- Can cover commercial buildings and residential buildings
Cons
- Does not cover properties that are also the business owner’s primary residence
Best for online quotes: American Family
Standout benefits: American Family also includes a Landlord Toolbox, a suite of information on topics ranging from marketing your property to vetting applicants.
American Family Landlord Insurance
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Policy highlights
American Family’s landlord insurance offers quotes online or through an extensive network of agents. The brand also has relatively few complaints with the NAIC for a company of its size.
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Types of properties covered
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Liability coverage limits
Pros
- Quotes and claims available online
- Extra support available in the landlord toolbox
- Also offers personal and commercial umbrella insurance to bundle
Cons
- Only available in 19 states
Best for new landlords: Steadily
Standout benefits: In addition to standard landlord insurance policies, Steadily also offers policies that are specifically geared toward Airbnb and VRBO rentals.
Steadily Landlord Insurance
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Policy highlights
Steadily’s landlord insurance is widely available throughout the U.S. and allows you to get quotes online in less than a minute. Policies include access to a landlord hub with downloadable forms from leases to eviction notices and directories for lenders, property managers and more.
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Types of properties covered
Single-family homes and multi-family, including apartments, condos, manufactured homes and homes that are vacant or undergoing restoration
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Liability coverage limits
Pros
- Available in all 50 states
- Claims and quotes are available online’
- Can cover vacant properties and those undergoing renovation
Cons
- Since it’s a newer company, it’s not yet been rated by J.D. Power for customer satisfaction and doesn’t yet have complaint data available with the NAIC
Best for multi-unit properties: Travelers
Standout benefits: As a large insurer, Travelers also has many policies to bundle all of your insurance and save, as well as make them easier to manage.
Travelers Landlord Insurance
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Policy highlights
Travelers landlord policies cover many property types ranging from single-family homes to duplexes and quadplex buildings. Policies can include $1,000 or more of coverage for medical payments to non-residents who are injured on the property. Landlord policy costs can be lowered by installing smart home devices.
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Types of properties covered
Single-family homes and multi-family homes up to four units, including apartments and condos
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Liability coverage limits
$100,000 minimum, higher limits available up to $1 million
Pros
- Company offers a wide variety of policies including standard homeowners, auto, boat and others to bundle and save
- Covers buildings with up to four units and single family homes
Cons
- Liability limits may be too low for some landlords
Best for Airbnbs: Allstate
Who’s this for: If you rent your primary home a few times per year, you likely don’t need a landlord insurance policy. Instead, a homeowners insurance policy from Allstate with a home-sharing endorsement might be a better fit. The home-sharing endorsement can help with theft or damage by renters for up to $10,000, which wouldn’t normally be covered by homeowners insurance alone.
Standout benefits: Allstate also offers discounts of up to 25% when you bundle your homeowners and auto insurance policies.
Allstate Homeowners Insurance
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Cost
The best way to estimate your costs is to request a quote
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App available
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Policy highlights
Allstate’s homeowners insurance combines strong track records for customer satisfaction with affordability. While not available in all states, it is widely available across the U.S. It’s also willing to work with homeowners who have unique needs like those with homes over 100 years old. Special features including unique homesharing coverage can help make your homeowners insurance policy even more useful.
Pros
- Offers several discounts, including bundling discounts for bundling home and auto insurance
- Coverage is available in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
Cons
- New policies not available in California
What is landlord insurance?
Landlord insurance covers a property you’re renting to tenants, typically protecting the property itself, any equipment you keep on hand to maintain it, and protects your liability if you’re sued for damages to someone else.
Here are the coverages included in a typical landlord policy:
Dwelling coverage
Like homeowners insurance, this coverage pays to repair or replace the rented home’s structure after a fire, lightning strike, hail, wind or other covered events. This coverage also extends to detached structures on your property, like a shed or garage.
Personal property
This covers any equipment left on site to maintain the rental, like a lawn mower. This doesn’t extend to personal property that you leave there that’s not related to upkeep, however. It also won’t extend to your tenants’ belongings — for that coverage, the tenant would need to keep their own renters insurance policy.
Personal liability
Liability coverage protects your assets if your tenant or someone else is injured at your rental property and you’re held responsible. For example, if your tenant falls down the stairs because of a loose board, and it’s found to be your fault for not maintaining the stairwell correctly, this coverage could help pay for medical costs, legal fees and other expenses.
Loss of rent
If your rental property sustains damage that’s covered by your policy and your tenants have to move out, your landlord insurance policy would kick in, helping protect your cash flow if tenants have to relocate.
Who needs landlord insurance?
Landlord insurance is the right fit for someone hoping to rent a property to a long-term tenant.
It’s not the right fit if you’re renting out a room or floor of your primary home, though, as landlord insurance doesn’t cover owner-occupied dwellings. And, those who rent out their homes for a few weeks a year on Airbnb don’t need landlord insurance, either. In both of these situations, adding some extra coverage to your homeowners insurance policy is likely a better fit.
However, if the property is solely occupied by tenants, you need landlord insurance. And, if you have a mortgage on the property, it will be required by your lender.
But even if you own the property outright, having landlord insurance can help protect your assets if you’re sued, keep cash coming in if your tenants have to relocate after a disaster, and repair or replace your home after a fire or other damage.
How much is landlord insurance?
How to buy landlord insurance
Unlike homeowners insurance, it’s rare for landlord insurance to be available to quote online. You’ll likely need to work with an insurance agent or broker to figure out exactly how much coverage you need and what you’ll pay.
To start getting quotes, you’ll need some information on the property you want to buy or already own. Gather information on:
- Your property’s address, building materials and age
- Your rental income
- Any co-owners on the property
- Information on your mortgage, if you have one
Then, compare two or three quotes from several companies with the same coverage limits and deductibles to find the best price for you. Once you find the one you want, follow the insurer’s directions for setting up payments.
Finally, keep your receipts — the IRS typically considers insurance premiums a business expense if you rent out your property.
Landlord insurance FAQs
Is landlord insurance required?
Landlord insurance isn’t required by law in any state, but you do need landlord insurance if you have a mortgage on your property. And, even if you don’t have a mortgage, getting landlord insurance can protect your assets in many scenarios, from losing rental income after a fire to being sued after a slip and fall.
Can you get homeowners insurance on a rental property?
No, homeowners insurance isn’t the right fit for a property that you’re renting out full time. Its coverage won’t apply to your tenants, and you can won’t get the unique coverage you need like rental income protection without it.
Do you need landlord insurance for an Airbnb?
If your home is rented out the majority of the year and you’re not living there, you likely need landlord insurance. However, if you’re living there most of the year, or are just renting out a room, getting a homeowners insurance policy with a home-sharing endorsement is likely the best fit.
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Our methodology
- Coverage types: Standard policies tend to include coverage for damage, personal liability and rental income loss. We favored companies that offered additional protections, such as coverage for water damage, code updates and replacement cost value policies.
- Coverage amount: Whenever possible, we noted maximum coverage amounts for liability, collision and comprehensive coverage.
- Discounts: Insurance companies with more opportunities for rate reductions were weighed more heavily, as were ones with sizable discounts for bundling.
- Availability: We considered how many states an insurer operated in and if policies were widely available.
- Claim filing: Insurers with an easy-to-follow claims process were weighed more heavily, as were ones that offered online claims filing.
- Digital experience: We considered whether an insurer offered rate quotes and the opportunity to
apply online. We also weighed providers more heavily if they had online chat via mobile app or website. - Customer service: We incorporated results from J.D. Power’s auto insurance surveys, as well as complaint volume from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ complaint index and grades issued by the Better Business Bureau.
Based on these criteria, our picks for the best landlord insurance are:
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Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.
Based in New York, Stephen Freeman is a Senior Editor at Trending Insurance News. Previously he has worked for Forbes and The Huffington Post. Steven is a graduate of Risk Management at the University of New York.