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 really important that all your tenants have listed you. It would seem confusing at first because the name “additional interest” seems to mean “financial interest”. However, that is not the case. Additional interest means the people who have an interest, or stake, in a property. Knowing this, it makes perfect sense why the property owner should be listed. Some owners make it a requirement to have their renters carry a renter’s insurance policy. However, many of them don’t go through the policy itself to see if they’re listed on it. Requiring both a renter’s insurance policy and being listed in it are important elements of safeguarding your rental home from the unexpected.
Since you are the owner of the Clearwater 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 their representative property management company is listed as an “additionally interested” in the renter’s insurance policy, it would be to your advantage. The owner or property manager will be notified if the policy is changed– which includes not renewing it. It’s critical that the owner or property manager know this valuable information. This is even more important 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 owner, you can’t file claims upon that policy saying that it protects your property. It doesn’t. Rather, this list only gives access to information. It lets the owner verify coverage; that’s all it gives, nothing more. To avoid misunderstandings, this distinction must be explained to the tenant.
A tenant must also be notified that if they move, the policy will not automatically be canceled, and the name that’s listed as an “additionally interested” entity will also not be automatically taken off the policy. An owner who is listed as an “additional interest” is not authorized to make changes to the policy. This means they are unable to cancel it. The tenant is in charge of making the needed changes to their policy or canceling it if they aren’t renting a home anymore.
Nearly 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. Adding the owner or property management company as an additional insured is different from adding additional interest. When you are sure that your tenant fully comprehends the distinction between the two, the process can proceed efficiently.
Explaining all the details of renter’s insurance can take a long time. But it is important that your tenants are covered with the right insurance policies and that arrangements have been made to keep you in the loop when any changes are made. At Real Property Management, we handle all the details of operating a rental property, including working with tenants so that they can comply with the requirements of renter’s insurance in Clearwater. Insurance is an important part of protecting your valuable investment property; make sure it’s done well with the help of the experts at Real Property Management TradeWinds. Please contact us online or call us at 727-400-4722 to learn more about how we can serve you.
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