For property owners, you should be listed on your resident’s renter’s insurance policy as an “additionally interested”. If you aren’t, you should change that. It’s crucial that every tenant you have has placed you on their list. To say someone has “additional interest” may seem to indicate that they have a financial interest. However, when it comes to renter’s insurance, that is not the case. It actually means that the person has a stake, or interest, in the property. With this definition clarified, it gives us a good picture of why the property owner should be listed as someone with “interest”. Some owners already require their renters to carry a renter’s insurance policy. While this is a step in the right direction, many of them fail to check the policy itself to see if they are properly listed on it. Requiring both a renter’s insurance policy and being properly listed on it are crucial parts of defending your rental home from unexpected problems.
Since you are the owner of the Boonville rental property, that means you have so many reasons to want to know what is happening to your own property. This is what is listed as an additionally interested in your tenant’s renter’s insurance policy will do. When a property owner or property management company is properly listed as an “additionally interested” on a renter’s insurance policy, it would help you. If there are changes made to the policy– which includes the failure to renew it– the owner or property manager is notified. It’s very important that the owner or property manager gets this valuable information, particularly when these policies are paid monthly.
To be clear, although your name appears in the tenant’s renter’s insurance policy, and is included in the list of “additionally interested” it does not mean that you, the listed party, have been granted any type of insurance coverage. As the property owner, you can’t say that the policy is there to protect your property. Instead, this type of listing is merely informational. It grants the owner the ability to verify coverage; nothing more. To avoid misunderstandings, the tenant must understand this distinction.
A tenant must also be informed that if they transfer to another place, the policy will not automatically be canceled, and the name of the “additionally interested” entity will not automatically be removed. An owner who is listed down as an “additional interest” cannot, in any way, cancel the policy. They do not have the authority to make changes of any kind. The tenant must be the one to make any changes to their policy or cancel it if they stopped renting a home.
Essentially all insurance companies who offer renters insurance will list an additionally interested in the policy upon request. If your tenant tries to avoid adding you on their policy by claiming their insurance company will not, it may be because they are not asking for the correct action. Placing an additional interest is different from placing the owner or property management company as an additional insured. Seeing to it that your tenant knows that there is a difference between the two can really speed up the process and move things forward efficiently.
Explaining the complex parts of renter’s insurance can be a tedious task for owners. But it is crucial that your tenants have the right insurance policies and that everything is in place to keep you notified and in the loop. At Real Property Management, we take care of all of the details of running a rental property, including speaking with tenants to ensure their compliance with renter’s insurance requirements in Boonville. Insurance is an important part of protecting your valuable investment property; make sure that this is done perfectly with the help of the experts at Real Property Management Results. If you are interested in learning more or have additional questions, please contact us online or by phone at 812-461-1676 today.
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