Fillable Questionnaire - Complete a fillable PDF and submit it to us with your info.
Discounts | Choices | Designs | Landlord Insurance Main Page
Choices - This section talks about business choices you make and how they may effect your premium.
Leases -
Animals - Many insurers prefer that you have your tenants sign leases and have firm rules for the use of your property. Inclusions that may insurers happy include NO PETS or NO DOGS. In fact the difference of having versus not having dogs on you property may be a savings of not having any liability coverage. (This is really no savings at all because of the exposure to loss you now have.) Policies may be added to cover liability for dogs that most insurers refuse to cover cost just under $1,000 per dog. Give us a call 607-843-8860 or email us insurance@drickardinsurance.com.
Annual and Continuous - Some landlords have a lease and then let it lapse and the tenant stays from month to month. Insurers will not give discounts or allowed preferred policies to be written on properties without annual leases in place. There are many details that differ by each insurance company as to how this works. So, give us a call 607-843-8860 or email us insurance@drickardinsurance.com and we may help you through understanding this.
Renters Insurance - Leases that require your tenants to have renters insurance and you have verified that they do by keeping a copy of their declaration page(s) of their renters insurance policy may result in savings of 7.5%! For more details, you guessed it, give us a call 607-843-8860 or email us insurance@drickardinsurance.com.
You asked and we delivered! Click here for a flyer that you can share with your tenants. (Please print them as needed since they will be updated from time to time with out notice.)
Life Safety -
Smoke detectors, Fire Extinguishers, and CO2 Detectors - are considered mandatory, required by law in most places, and standard minimal safety precautions to have in all rented units. Most insurers no longer will write a policy if these minimal requirements are not complied with.
Central Station Alarm - Alarms that call out to a central monitor station generally will save you up to 5% off of your building and contents premium. In some cases the savings for this safety system may save you enough to pay for the annual cost of the contract. Give us a call 607-843-8860 or email us insurance@drickardinsurance.com.
Fire Escape - All buildings with a third floor should have a secured second means of egress. How this works with each insurer varies and the rules may also vary by type of building. Give us a call 607-843-8860 or email us insurance@drickardinsurance.com.
Partial Sprinkler System - Some buildings only have sprinklers in the common areas or wear the utilities are like only in the basement. Most insurers do not consider this a sprinklered building. However, we have found some that give a partial credit for this. Keep in mind that the system must be checked and maintained per the individual insurer's standards. Proof of this must be provided the insurer upon request. Give us a call 607-843-8860 or email us insurance@drickardinsurance.com to see how this may help you.
Full Building Sprinkler System - Buildings that have complete sprinkler systems throughout the entire building may qualify to get a discount off of the annual premium for the building and contents of up to 40%! That is HUGE! If you are building a new structure it is much easier to build this safety feature in. In some cases it is worth installing this in current buildings. Just imagine how much you can save when you own a building 10, 20, 30 or more years! Keep in mind that the system must be checked and maintained per the individual insurer's standards. Proof of this must be provided the insurer upon request. Give us a call 607-843-8860 or email us at insurance@drickardinsurance.com.
Deductibles - Deductibles generally range from $250, $500, $750, $1000, $2,000, $2,500 $5,000, $10,000 $20,000, $25,000 and $50,000. The savings from one deductible to the next highest has been generally calculated at 5% per level compounded. How do you find what level of deductible is right for you? It really depends on your personal strategy. Often it takes careful thought to get this component right. Your choice may vary by insurer and the location to be insured. We may be able to help you through these considerations if you give us a call at 607-843-8860 or email us at insurance@drickardinsurance.com.
Precise Coverage - This almost seems like a given, doesn't it? However, many times landlords do not know how much insurance they want when they contact us for the first time. There is a real strategy to choosing coverage that gives you the best value for your insurance dollar, remains affordable when compared to your income strategy and provides the type of insurance protection you are looking for.
Building(s) - How much coverage should you have? Getting replacement cost settlement coverage does not mean the you have replacement cost policy pricing. Are you really going to replace the building after a significant loss? How much do you have invested in the structure? Does actual cash value insurance make more sense? Are you going to let the building stand damaged if there is a partial loss? These are just a few of the questions that you should consider. In some cases getting higher limits of coverage will save you money. Wouldn't it be nice to work with an insurance agency that considers all of the available options rather than cookie cutter your request? Please, give us a call at 607-843-8860 or email us at insurance@drickardinsurance.com.
Liability Limits - In some cases the liability coverage differs greatly but the premium very little. Would you like to have $1,000,000 liability coverage per occurrence for only $60 a year? We may be able to find a company that can make that happen if you give us a call at 607-843-8860 or email us at insurance@drickardinsurance.com.
Property Managers - If you are more than 50 miles from your income property some insurers will not allow you to have their preferred products unless you use a property manager to care for the remote locations. Even though we may usually be able to help you either way, the savings may be hundreds of dollars between preferred and non-preferred insurance products. How may we help you qualify for discounts? Give us a call at 607-843-8860 or email us at insurance@drickardinsurance.com.
Maintain Good Credit - Statistics show that persons with good credit have fewer insurance claims. Also, as you may guess persons with good credit are known to pay their bills on time. Therefore the internal costs of insurance policies are lower. This lower cost of managing a policy is reflected in eligibility for preferred policies and lower premiums. So, as far as it depends on you keep excellent credit. What also goes along with good money management is being able to pay your annual premium in full or one payment.
Pay In Full - PIF generally stands for Pay In Full in the insurance world. Sometimes PIF results in discounts that may be in the hundreds of dollars. Other times you may use your willingness to PIF as a way to get a better tier of product that you would not have been otherwise eligible for. Since most companies charge installment fees for breaking your policy premium into payments, you will save those fees by PIF. Imagine this, saving installment fees of around $5 per month and getting a discount for PIF. It doesn't take long for this one strategy to save you money. Now, lets pile this on to the other savings ideas we have... Give us a call at 607-843-8860 or email us at insurance@drickardinsurance.com.
Discounts - Based on the characteristics of your property, your business practices, and various other factors you may be able pile some discounts on your income property insurance policies. Sounds like fun, right? Give us a call at 607-843-8860 or email us at insurance@drickardinsurance.com.
Landlord Association Discount - Some areas have landlord associations that help their members in the management of their properties with ideas and resources. In some cases the group gets discounts on tenant screening, legal service and provides a forum for issues to be discussed. Because of this we may be able to find you discounts on your income property insurance because of being a member of an association. Give us a call at 607-843-8860 or email us at insurance@drickardinsurance.com.
Tenant Screening Discount - If you do background checks on tenants before you allow them to take occupancy you will likely have less problems with tenants. Because of this some insurers have discounts for the use of tenant screening. For more information give us a call at 607-843-8860 or email us at insurance@drickardinsurance.com.
Multi-Policy Discounts - Some insurers give a discount when you have multiple policies with them. What is the right fit for you? Give us a call 607-843-8860 or email us at insurance@drickardinsurance.com.
Multi-Location Discount - If you insure multiple locations in one policy there may be a discount available. Add a second point, Many locations that may be placed with one insurer, in one or more policies, with a single controlling interest, may be eligible for more than 20% savings! Do you want to know more? Give us a call at 607-843-8860 or email us at insurance@drickardinsurance.com.
Pay In Full Discount - PIF Discount - Some insurers give a discount of your annualized premium if you pay off your annualized premium in one payment. Not only does PIF simplify your life, it also saves you pesky installment fees. How much can your savings add up? Give us a call at 607-843-8860 or email us at insurance@drickardinsurance.com.
Property Management Company Discount - If you use a profession property manager some insurers will offer a discount off of you annualized premium. What insurers do this? Does your property manager qualify according to insurers standards? Give us a call at 607-843-8860 or email us at insurance@drickardinsurance.com.
Designs - There are some great tricks and tips you can use to get the most out of your insurance dollars, many of these may save you money. These custom policy designs can maximize your insurance dollars. Choose the types of coverage that are most important to you while leaving out the rest.
Bundling - In some cases insurers have bundle certain types of frequently purchased together coverage item into on optional endorsement to save you money. Rather than selecting a coverage item by item, ask us for what packaged enhancement endorsements may be available. Give us a call at 607-843-8860 or email us at insurance@drickardinsurance.com.
Payments - The fewer payments you make on your insurance policies the more you will save just in installment fees. Plus when you select an annual single payment policy at inception you save even more, depending on your chosen insurer's options. Therefore, if you can pay your policy in full, let us know up front and that will aid us when you give us a call at 607-843-8860 or email us at insurance@drickardinsurance.com to set up you new insurance. If you are unable to start your valuable coverage with a PIF policy you may select a one pay option upon renewal and enjoy the benefits in the future term.
Many insurance companies we work with give discount prices for paying a policy off in full (PIF). Many of those insurers accept credit card payments. Many of our landlords have reward plans linked with their credit cards. Therefore, many of our landlords get rewarded for saving money on insurance!
Building Coverage Amounts - The closer your building coverage amounts are to the current estimated replacement cost the better your price of insurance for the building will be. If you give us a call at 607-843-8860 or email us at insurance@drickardinsurance.com we can find that sweet spot price that best fits you.
One of the most popular strategies is that our landlords are stopping buying deductibles so low that they would never turn in a claim for the such a low amount. This saves them money. They instead increase the amount of coverage on the building. Usually within 20% of the replacement cost of the structure. This increases the value of the insurance premium spent because there is usually a discount for that much coverage. Call 607-843-8860 or email us at insurance@drickardinsurance.com so we can help you create a policy that fits your needs while saving you money.
Locations - Grouping location that have similar risks together often allow for better policy choice. For instance if you have your single family rentals groups together and buy policies for them you may get a better overall price than if you include 4 family houses in the package. Perhaps the 4 family house is better priced with a different insurer. We will be glad to help you with the right coverage strategies if you give us a call at 607-843-8860 or email us at insurance@drickardinsurance.com.
*Savings vary by insurer. Not all insurance companies offer the same options. There are many factors involved in creating a policy that is right for you. Just because it is cheap doesn't mean it is better. Policies may look the same however the devil is in the details. Seemingly small endorsements or changes of a few words in a policy make a big difference at the time of a loss. You should know your policy well. For more details, email insurance@drickardinsurance.com or 607-843-8860.
Get the New DRickard Insurance mobile app with special features for income property.