If you are a property owner, you should be in your resident’s renter’s insurance policy, listed as an “additionally interested” party. If you aren’t in it yet, you need to work on changing that. It’s vital that all your tenants have that list and your name is on it. It would seem confusing at first because the name “additional interest” seems to mean “financial interest”. However, that is not the case. Additional interest means the people who have an interest, or stake, in a property. Knowing this, it makes perfect sense why the property owner should be listed. It is true that many owners already require their renters to have a renter’s insurance policy. However, not all have taken the precaution of actually checking the policy itself to see if they are listed correctly. Requiring both a renter’s insurance policy and being listed in it are important elements of safeguarding your rental home from the unexpected.
Since you are the owner, you have so many reasons why you’d want to be informed with what is happening to your Hudson rental property. This is what is listed as an additionally interested in your tenant’s renter’s insurance policy will do. When the property owner or the property management company representing them is listed in the renter’s insurance policy as an “additionally interested”, it would be very beneficial. The owner or property manager will be given notice if or when there are any changes made to that policy– including the failure to renew it. It’s critical that the owner or property manager know this valuable information. This is even more important when these policies are paid monthly.
To be clear, just because you are the listed party in a tenant’s renter’s insurance policy, and are listed as an “additionally interested”, it doesn’t mean that you have any type of insurance coverage. As the owner, you can’t file claims upon that policy saying that it protects your property. It doesn’t. Rather, this list only gives access to information. It lets the owner verify coverage; that’s all it gives, nothing more. This distinction must be made clear to the tenants to prevent any misunderstandings.
A tenant also needs to understand that if they transfer to another home, the policy will not automatically be canceled nor will the names of the “additionally interested” entities be changed or removed. An owner listed as an “additional interest” can’t cancel the policy since they have not been given the authority to make any changes to it. The tenant is obligated to make the necessary changes or cancel their policy if they’ve transferred to a different home or stopped renting.
Almost all insurance companies who offer renters insurance will list an additionally interested in the policy upon request. If your tenant tries to avoid adding you on their policy by claiming their insurance company will not, it may be because they are not asking for the correct action. Adding an additional interest is not equivalent to listing the owner or property management company as an additional insured. When you are confident that your tenant appreciates the difference between these two things, the process can move forward efficiently.
Explaining all the intricate details of renter’s insurance can eat up so much of your time. But it is critical that your tenants have the right insurance policies covering them and that you will be kept in the loop whenever changes are made. At Real Property Management, we manage all the aspects of operating a rental property, including handling the tenants to make sure they implement what is required by the renter’s insurance in Hudson. Insurance is an important part of protecting your valuable investment property; make sure it’s done correctly with the services of Real Property Management Metro West-Worcester. Feel free to contact us online or by phone at 508-329-6000. We’ll be glad to answer any of your questions.
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