Tips for Landlords Buying Insurance in Brooklyn
Buying landlord insurance in Brooklyn can be a daunting task. Especially since you’ve invested a lot into the home or homes you manage. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that you’ll want to protect that investment with the right kind of insurance coverage — and the right amount. These tips will help you buy with confidence, while avoiding some of the pitfalls other landlords fall into when purchasing insurance for their properties in Brooklyn.
Why You Can’t Afford to Skimp on Landlord Insurance in Brooklyn
Without getting the right types and amount of coverage for your Brooklyn property you might find that your home isn’t covered if, or when, disaster strikes. Brooklyn, like any other city of its size and approximate geographic location, faces certain risks that the right insurance coverage can help to mitigate. These risks include things like:
- Hail
- Tornadoes
- Wind
- Hurricanes
- Blizzards
- Crime
- Theft
- Vandalism
- Accidents and Injuries
- Damage from Tenants
- Loss of Income
- Floods
As you can see, being a landlord is risky business. Getting the right landlord insurance in Brooklyn helps to mitigate those risks and limit your financial exposure when bad things happen. The situations above will require multiple policies to handle completely and working with an independent agency can help ensure you get the right coverage for your needs.
Getting the Facts about Landlord Insurance in Brooklyn
Not all policies are the same when it comes to covering your Brooklyn property. As a landlord, you have different needs than the average Brooklyn homeowner who lives in his or her property. This is why it’s so important to know your coverage and ask questions to make sure you’re covered for the things you find important.
These are a few questions you will want to ask — hopefully they’ll help trigger a few questions of your own as well.
- Do you need separate coverage for home that are vacant than you’ll need for those that are rented?
- Does insurance provide protection from damage tenants cause to the property?
- Does your policy provide coverage for loss of rental income when covered damages occur?
- What is excluded from coverage under your policy?
- Do you need a separate flood insurance policy?
- Is your policy for market value of replacement cost? And what does that difference mean for you?
The more you know about your risks and Brooklyn home insurance coverage options, the better you are able to find the right policy to meet your needs.
Reducing Costs of Brooklyn Landlord Insurance
Obviously you purchased rental property with the hopes of turning a profit. While it’s important to protect your investment with full insurance coverage, it’s also important to keep your costs low without sacrificing coverage.
There are things you can do that will help you reduce your insurance costs without increasing your risks, like these mentioned below.
Make Preventative Changes
This actually covers a lot of ground as there are many steps you can take to reduce certain risks for your property. They include the following actions:
- Install roll down window shutters for storm protection.
- Invest in sprinkler systems to reduce damage from fires.
- Invest in monitored smoke detectors and security alarms for the property.
You don’t have to look far to find a wealth of small, inexpensive changes you can make to improve the safety and security of the property and reduce your risks for lower insurance premiums.
Bundle Policies
This works exceptionally well if you have multiple properties as you can bundle them together for bigger, better savings.
Raise Deductibles
A bit riskier as it will cost you more out of pocket when disasters strike, but it can save you a great bit from month-to-month.
As a landlord consider these things when searching for homeowners insurance in Brooklyn to save money, time, and sanity in your search. Work with an independent insurance agent to ensure that you are getting the best Brooklyn landlord insurance coverage at the best price.