What is Landlord Insurance?
Landlord insurance is a policy designed to protect unit owners from the risks of renting out their properties. These risks can include property damage caused by floods or fire, and liability coverage if a landlord gets sued by a tenant or building guest.
Landlord insurance is an incredibly broad term that can be applied to several situations, including one property, a schedule of properties, or even a multi-family building. It can also include commercial, personal use, or rented units. For this reason, every landlord insurance policy will need to be a little different so that your client gets the coverage that suits their circumstances.
How Much is Landlord Insurance?
Landlord insurance costs vary based on size, location, and TIV, so there’s no way to give an accurate quote without specifics. However, you can use examples to help illustrate costs. These three examples are based on real insurance quotes and will help you estimate what a client might pay for their premiums.
| Location | Size | TIV | Premium |
| Chicago | 90 units, 6 stories | ~$21 million | ~$37,000 |
| West New York | 6 location schedule | ~$11.5 million | ~$50,000 |
| Denver | 44 units, 6 stories | ~$14.5 million | ~$34,000 |
Many clients will want an exact quote that reflects their situation. Distinguished offers a short online application process so you can get your clients a quote quickly and conveniently.
What Does Distinguished’s Landlord Insurance Cover?
Distinguished covers landlords through three separate packages:
- City Condominiums Package: For condominium buildings from 2-100 units, including mixed-use and pool.
- City Landlord Package: For multi-family properties, including mixed-use units in designated cities across the country with 2-100 units.
- City Multi-Family Package: For multi-family properties, including mixed-use buildings and owner-occupied units with less than four units.
Through these packages, your clients get access to the following coverages:
- Commercial general liability: Provides up to $1,000,000 per occurrence, with $2,000,000 of coverage in aggregate.
- Ordinance or law: Provides full limit on Ordinance A, with B and C both getting 25% of the building limit or a minimum of $400,000.
- Foundations and underground pipes: Provides $100,000 per occurrence.
- Equipment breakdown: Major system repairs like electrical, mechanical, or HVAC.
- Sewer and drain backup: Water damage caused by backups.
- Terrorism (TRIA) coverage: For losses caused by certified terrorist attacks.
With Distinguished, you can also offer optional coverages like:
- Flood insurance
- Earthquake insurance
- Hired and non-owned automobile coverage
- Crime insurance (condominiums only)
- Employee liability benefits insurance
- Personal liability (for owner-occupied properties)
- Personal inland marine (for owner-occupied properties)
- Additional living expenses (for owner-occupied properties)
Another major advantage of insuring landlord clients through Distinguished is that you get access to our umbrella policies. This includes our Express City Insurance Umbrella, which offers limit options up to $10 million.
In short, landlord insurance with Distinguished covers what landlords want it to cover. There’s no need to pigeonhole them into a set policy. Owners can happily work with you to pick a package and coverage options that suit them.
What Landlords are Looking for in an Insurance Policy
Knowing what a prospective client is looking for is the key to winning accounts. Here are three things you can offer to win over new clients.
Flexible Underwriting and Coverages for Their Unique Situation
Everyone’s situation is a little different. One of your landlord clients may be insuring a 10-unit rental building, while another might be looking for coverage for an owner-occupied four-family home. Offering flexibility is key to winning over these clients who need an insurance policy tailored to their needs.
Distinguished’s flexible underwriting and expertise help you offer plans designed to cover anywhere between 2 and 100 units across your city. Policies can also be adjusted to include buildings with mixed-use, owner-occupied units, tenant-occupied units, and even condominium associations. This means you can offer clients what they’re looking for, not what some predefined package says they need.
No Age Restrictions
America’s cities are full of older buildings that need to be insured. However, many insurance companies won’t insure these buildings because their age has passed an arbitrary number.
You don’t have to say no to these clients when you insure with Distinguished. Any building that passes inspection (and has had regular ongoing maintenance and updates) is eligible for insurance. This includes New York Brick & Brownstone buildings that come with their own set of special needs.
Perks That Make Their Lives Easier
Setting yourself apart as an insurance broker isn’t easy. Everyone says they offer lower premiums and better customer service, so you need to have some serious perks to make an impact on your clients.
Distinguished helps you do just that by offering policyholders access to a list of qualified tradespeople through Sedgwick Repair Services. Landlords have enough to worry about when something goes wrong in their units or buildings. With Distinguished, you can be their knight in shining armor by offering them expert contractors to make the repairs and coverages that’ll take care of the bill.
What Makes Distinguished a Cut Above for Landlord Insurance
Partnering with Distinguished means more than just getting access to our exclusive landlord programs. It means faster quotes, broader coverage, and a team that actually supports you. Here are just a few reasons brokers love to work with us when insuring their landlord clients:
- Flexible coverage built for the market: Our programs are designed for the real-world needs of landlords across the United States, especially mixed-use buildings with 2-15 units, which make up the majority of the market.
- Consistent market presence: Our programs have been delivering consistent coverage and underwriting support for nearly 20 years, giving brokers a stable, reliable option they can count on.
- Backed by a trusted name: Our programs are underwritten by Zurich North America, an “A” rated carrier.
- High-limit umbrella coverage options: Offer your clients broader protection at competitive rates, especially useful for landlords with multiple properties.
- No building age restrictions: We insure any property that passes inspection, has regular maintenance and updates — there are no automatic cutoffs based on the age of the building.
- Built-in Sedgwick Repair Services access: Your clients can easily connect with a vetted network of qualified contractors for repairs and maintenance.
- Streamlined application and quoting process: Submit business through our online portal and get quotes back quickly, helping you close deals faster.
- Responsive and experienced underwriting team: Our team understands the nuances of rental property risks and can help you tailor coverage for each client.
On top of all of this, our City Insurance Program is available across the country in all of the most popular urban centers, including San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Denver, Nashville, and more. Please check our program page for an updated list of all eligible cities.
Get Started With Distinguished
To access Distinguished’s landlord insurance programs, you’ll need to register as a broker. Once you’re approved, you can easily submit business through our online portal.
Have questions about coverage, eligibility, or how to get appointed? Reach out to our team at [email protected] — we’re happy to help.
Want to explore more? Check out the resources below for details on our programs:
City Homes Insurance FAQs
Not seeing what you need? Speak with an insurance expert through our live chat or contact us to learn more.
How do I submit?
To submit, register as a broker in our portal, then complete our online application. If you’re representing an account with seven or more locations, you can also submit with a paper application.
Do you write schedules?
Yes. If this includes over seven buildings, we have a streamlined process where you’ll work directly with our underwriting team.
Do you inspect properties?
Yes, all properties are inspected. Depending on your situation, we may do a full inspection or a “drive-by” partial inspection. For full inspections, we’ll need to arrange a scheduled appointment time, plus you’ll need to provide us with several documents, including maintenance records and Certificates of Insurance.
