Indiana Landlord Insurance
Get a full analysis of Indiana landlord insurance costs, coverage, and companies.
Jeff Green has held a variety of sales and management roles at life insurance companies, Wall street firms, and distribution organizations over his 40-year career. He was previously Finra 7,24,66 registered and held life insurance licenses in multiple states. He is a graduate of Stony Brook University.
Find the Best Landlord Insurance Options in Indiana
There are over 6.8 million people living in the state of Indiana, with around 30 percent living in rental homes. If you own a rental property in Indiana, it may be a side gig that provides extra income, or it could be your full-time business.
Whether you own one rental home or multiple large apartment complexes, you need to ensure that all of your rental properties have protection against disasters, damaging weather, fire, or theft that could be financially disastrous. You also need to protect your assets in case you are sued for some type of negligence.
Landlord insurance in Indiana protects your rental properties with property coverage and liability coverage. A local independent insurance agent can help you get landlord insurance quotes from multiple insurance companies in Indiana so you can find the policy that best meets your needs and budget.
Best Landlord Insurance Companies in Indiana
Several insurance companies offer highly rated Indiana landlord insurance. The following are some of the best landlord insurance companies in Indiana. These companies provide a mix of valuable coverage offerings and competitive pricing.
- Progressive: Progressive is based in Ohio and offers personal insurance, including landlord insurance. Indiana residents can look to Progressive for most of their personal insurance needs.
- Travelers: Travelers offers highly rated landlord insurance in Indiana. It can meet your additional personal insurance needs with a full line of products, including homeowners, auto, boat, identity theft, umbrella, and other coverages.
- Safeco: Safeco has been protecting individuals and families since 1923. The company offers landlord insurance in Indiana, as well as a comprehensive range of other personal insurance policies. Safeco makes it easy to get the best mix of coverage and pricing when working through independent agents.
- Stillwater Insurance Group: Stillwater is a national personal and commercial lines carrier with rock-solid financial stability. The company can help you with your landlord insurance needs in Indiana.
- Foremost Insurance Company: Foremost was founded in 1952 and offers a wide range of coverage, including landlord insurance, in 50 states.
An independent insurance agent in your area can help you learn more about these and other landlord insurance companies in Indiana. A local agent can help you get competitive quotes for the coverage that fits your needs.
What Is Landlord Insurance?
Landlord insurance is similar to homeowners insurance. It protects your residential property in the event of a fire, storm damage, or other covered perils.
However, landlord insurance is designed specifically to protect landlords. While it covers damage to the structure of a rental property, it does not cover the tenants' personal property.
In addition, landlord insurance also provides liability coverage designed for the increased liability risks that landlords face.
Is Landlord Insurance Required in Indiana?
Landlord insurance is not required by law in Indiana.
If, however, you've worked with a lender to finance the purchase of your residential rental property in Indiana, the lender will require you to have landlord insurance as a condition of your loan.
An independent insurance agent in your area can help you determine how to appropriately cover your particular rental property.
What Does Landlord Insurance Cover in Indiana?
Landlord insurance in Indiana provides several different types of coverage:
- Dwelling coverage: Covers the building itself for any physical damage caused by fire, lightning, wind, hail, ice, snow, or other covered perils.
- Other structures coverage: Helps pay to repair detached structures (e.g., a garage or shed) on your rental property if they're damaged by a covered loss.
- Personal property coverage: Covers the landlord's personal property used to service the rental (e.g., lawnmowers, snowblowers, maintenance equipment) left on site if it's damaged by a covered loss. (This does not cover your tenants' possessions.)
- Landlord liability coverage: Protects you if someone is injured on your property or if you are responsible for damaging someone else’s property. Landlord liability insurance covers the costs of any medical treatment or property repairs that are required. If you're sued, it also covers legal costs (e.g., attorney fees, court costs, and financial settlements or judgments).
- Loss of rental income: Coverage for your lost rental income if your tenants have to move out so you can make repairs to your building after a fire, storm, or some other covered peril. (This does not provide coverage if your tenant can't pay the rent because of a job loss or financial problem.)
A local independent insurance agent can help you decide if you need additional types of coverage for your rental property.
What Else Can Indiana Landlord Insurance Cover?
Some insurance companies offer additional coverage options that you can include in your Indiana landlord insurance policy, such as:
- Non-occupied dwelling coverage: This provides coverage during the times that your rental property is vacant. Many insurance companies will not honor claims for damage that occurred in a home that had been vacant for more than 30 days unless the landlord carries this optional coverage.
- Building code coverage: This is most beneficial if you own an older property. Building codes may have changed since it was built, so if it is damaged, contractors doing repairs may identify additional renovations that are necessary to bring it up to code. This insurance can cover these unexpected extra costs.
- Rent guarantee insurance: This offers you some protection if a tenant fails to make rental payments. Your policy can cover the revenue losses for a set period of time, which is typically long enough for you to complete the eviction process. Rates are based mainly on the amount you charge in rent and the creditworthiness of your renters.
Rent guarantee insurance is sometimes referred to as eviction insurance, as it may cover the cost of evictions. Keep in mind that this coverage is very expensive, and you won't likely recoup all of your losses. You'll have to pay a deductible, and it will typically only cover a percentage of the monthly rent up to a set limit.
Landlords in Indiana should be aware of the various coverage options available so they can be sure they are getting all the coverage they need to protect their investments and income. An independent insurance agent can help you with landlord insurance in Indiana.
What's Not Covered by Landlord Insurance in Indiana?
As with all insurance policies, landlord insurance has some limitations. Your Indiana landlord insurance policy will not cover:
- Flood damage: This isn't covered even if the flood is the direct result of a covered storm. To be covered, you will need to supplement your landlord insurance policy with a flood insurance policy.
- Intentional damage caused by tenants: Sometimes, tenants act badly out of spite or in retaliation for an eviction notice. If they damage your property on purpose, most landlord insurance policies will not provide coverage. You will instead need to sue the tenant to get compensation.
- Normal wear and tear: Things break, and unless they break because of a covered event, your landlord insurance policy will not cover them. If the refrigerator in your rental property suddenly stops working or if the hot water tank fails, you will need to cover repair or replacement costs on your own.
It is important to be aware of what your policy does and does not cover so that you do not face any unfortunate surprises later. When you work with an independent insurance agent in your area, your agent can help you go through your policy and understand when your coverage doesn’t apply.
How Much Does Landlord Insurance Cost in Indiana?
On average, landlords in the US spend about $1,516 a year on their landlord insurance policies, and in Indiana, the cost is about $1,288. In general, landlord insurance will cost about 25 percent more than a standard homeowners insurance policy in your area. This is because rental properties are riskier than private dwellings, and therefore, landlords are more likely to file some type of insurance claim.
Landlord insurance costs in Indiana will vary based on your property and unique set of risk factors. In general, landlord insurance premiums are based on characteristics such as:
- The size and location of your property
- The type of building (e.g., single-family home, multi-family apartment building, etc.)
- The age and construction of your building
- The number of tenants occupying the property
- Your expected monthly rental revenue
- The weather and crime risks in your city
If your building has fire sprinklers, burglar alarms, gated access, or other security systems, you may be able to save some money on your landlord insurance premiums.
A local independent insurance agent can help you get multiple quotes for landlord insurance in Indiana. You can compare costs and coverage and choose the policy that best suits your needs and budget.
Indiana Landlord Insurance FAQs
Landlord insurance in Indiana provides several different types of coverage:
- Dwelling coverage: Covers the building itself for any physical damage caused by fire, lightning, wind, hail, ice, snow, or other covered perils.
- Other structures coverage: Helps pay to repair detached structures (e.g., a garage or shed) on your rental property if they're damaged by a covered loss.
- Personal property coverage: Covers the landlord's personal property used to service the rental (e.g., lawnmowers, snowblowers, maintenance equipment) left on site if it's damaged by a covered loss. (This does not cover your tenants' possessions.)
- Landlord liability coverage: Protects you if someone is injured on your property or if you are responsible for damaging someone else’s property.
- Loss of rental income: Coverage for your lost rental income if your tenants have to move out so you can make repairs to your building after a fire, storm, or some other covered peril.
Having landlord insurance is not required by law in Indiana. It's important to know, however, that if you've worked with a lender to finance the purchase of your residential rental property in Indiana, the lender will require you to have landlord insurance as a condition of your loan.
Whether or not you'll need landlord insurance or homeowners insurance is usually determined by how you use your property and the insurance company you select.
On average, landlords in the US spend about $1,516 a year on their landlord insurance policies, and the average in Indiana is about $1,288. Landlord insurance generally costs about 25 percent more than a standard homeowners insurance policy in your area.
Yes. Many landlords require tenants to purchase renters insurance to avoid disputes arising from damage to the renter's belongings, as well as any disputes over liability claims or lawsuits.
If you require your tenants to have renters insurance, it must be spelled out as part of the lease agreement, with specific tenant responsibilities and the consequences of not providing proof of insurance made clear.
We recommend several top landlord insurance companies in Indiana, including Travelers, Progressive, Stillwater, Safeco, and Foremost.
Your landlord insurance in Indiana covers damage caused by tenants in some circumstances.
Landlord insurance will usually cover sudden and accidental damage caused by a tenant. So, if a tenant accidentally causes a kitchen fire, any damage to walls, countertops, cabinets, and other covered parts of the building should be covered by your landlord insurance. Any fire damage to your tenants' furniture, cookware, or other possessions will not be covered by your landlord insurance. It will be covered by the tenant’s renters insurance if they have it.
If an appliance that you own (e.g., the oven) is damaged in the same fire, it would likely be covered under the landlord insurance policy.
Landlord insurance in Indiana does not cover intentional damage caused by tenants. A standard landlord insurance policy won’t protect you if a tenant punches in a wall, kicks in a door, paints graffiti, or otherwise intentionally damages some part of a unit.
Standard landlord insurance in Indiana typically won't cover the cost of evictions. However, eviction insurance, or rent guarantee insurance, can be purchased separately from some insurance companies. It will cover some of the costs involved in an eviction, as well as some of the rent you miss during the eviction process.
No, landlord insurance does not cover floods in Indiana. But you can purchase flood insurance designed for landlords from the National Flood Insurance Program and some private carriers.
A local independent insurance agent can help you find a competitively priced landlord insurance policy that meets your needs. Independent agents aren’t tied down to one carrier. They can get quotes from multiple insurance companies so you can choose the Indiana landlord insurance policy that best fits your needs and budget.
Contact an independent agent in your area today for a free, no-obligation consultation.
https://www.iii.org/article/coverage-for-renting-out-your-home
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/IN,US/PST045223
https://www.simplyinsurance.com/landlord-insurance-rates-by-state/