Renter’s insurance newbie questions

November 13, 2024 10:55 AM

I moved into a new place and the landlord requires renter’s insurance with his name and coverage amounts he specified. I got a policy from Lemonade but they can’t add him as additional insured, just additional interested. When you’ve had policies due to landlord requirements, how did you list your landlord and which company? I don’t have other insurance to bundle.
posted by mermaidcafe to Home & Garden (9 answers total)

Best answer: I spoke too soon, here's a page talking about why you might add a landlord to a renter's insurance policy as "an additional insured."
posted by zippy at 11:24 AM on November 13, 2024 [2 favorites]

Renters insurance doesn't even cover the stuff a landlord would need reimbursement for, it covers your stuff, not the landlord's stuff. There's no universe where you'd want your landlord to be able to make a claim after your stuff got stolen or damaged.
posted by BungaDunga at 11:25 AM on November 13, 2024

Lemonade has a page for landlords about renter's insurance and it mentions asking a tenant to add the landlord as "an interested party," so it sounds like what you've already done was the right action to fulfill your landlord's request.
posted by zippy at 11:38 AM on November 13, 2024

Response by poster: @zippy ,

It’s not that but that Lemonade doesn’t offer additional insured party coverage. I asked and now have to find a different provider that does.
posted by mermaidcafe at 11:41 AM on November 13, 2024

BungaDunga, renters insurance does cover damages to the landlord in some cases. For example, if you leave the tap running and the bathtub overflows causing water damage, your renters insurance covers this. If your landlord is bitten by your dog while making repairs, tenants insurance. At the last purpose built rental that I lived in, I was required to carry $2 million in liability coverage for all of these cases. Where I live we don’t name the parties that are interested, just have generic cover.

If Lemonade does offer generic liability coverage, offer this to the landlord instead.
posted by shock muppet at 12:12 PM on November 13, 2024 [3 favorites]

My landlord requires us to carry renter's insurance with $100,000 liability and to name them as an "interested party." If not, they sign us up automatically for a policy that provides this coverage, without any of the usual coverages for us as renters, for $15 a month. Our insurer, State Farm, has no problem adding the landlord as an interested party.
posted by lhauser at 5:19 PM on November 13, 2024 [1 favorite]

On a bit of research, interested party simply means your landlord is notified of the status of your insurance.

There are two types of insurance: first party coverage, and third party coverage (liability). First party is for you, it insures your contents against damage or theft, for example. Third party coverage is for others, it insures them against damages caused by you.

If, for example, you left a tap on and negligently caused water damage, your landlords first party coverage would cover repairs to the building. Your landlords insurer would make a claim against you, and your third party liability coverage would kick in to pay to the extent of your negligence.

If your landlord negligently caused a fire, your first party coverage would pay you, and your insurer would make a claim against your landlord, etc.

It is important that both sides have insurance as it protects you against loss and against claims.

It would be out of the ordinary for a landlord to be an additional insured on a renters insurance policy, because the coverage a renter has under that policy aren't normally needed by or don't apply to a landlord's interests. A landlord's property insurance should provide all of the first party coverage they need, as well as sufficient liability coverage.

Some policies (particularly liability) automatically cover certain parties as additional insured, but this is different than being a named additional insured. I'd check whether the liability coverage already has coverage for any (not named) additional insureds.

Also, the situation is different if you're being asked to add a property manager than for a landlord who owns the property.
posted by lookoutbelow at 8:35 AM on November 14, 2024

Mod note: Several comments about renter's insurance and how adding the landlord as an additional insured seems dodgy deleted. Please stick to answering the question being asked (how did you list your landlord and which company? )
posted by loup (staff) at 1:26 PM on November 14, 2024

When you’ve had policies due to landlord requirements, how did you list your landlord and which company?

I used Lemonade and designated the landlord as an interested party. Every year they ask me to re-upload forms or they'll use my noncompliance as an excuse to sign me up for their overpriced insurance offering.
posted by pwnguin at 7:56 PM on November 17, 2024