Today, more and more landlords owning large, professionally-managed apartment buildings are increasingly adamant that new tenants have insurance. They know that tenants with insurance are generally higher quality residents, and it increases renter accountability while decreasing legal risk.
It’s a huge benefit for your tenants as well. One of the costliest mistakes renters make is to opt out of tenant insurance. It’s bad news for them if they’re unfortunate enough to be victims of theft, fire or water damage.
It’s clear that tenant insurance is a must. Yet in spite of a rising number of renters across Canada, only about half currently have coverage.
So, the real question is: how do you ensure that all your tenants have renters insurance? Here are some best practices.
Make It Part of Your Lease Agreement
Require tenants to have insurance as part of the lease agreement. Make it a standard procedure, as it protects both parties in many ways. You raise awareness of the tenant’s obligation, and help them understand that it ultimately is to their advantage as well. It’s up to the prospective renter to agree to the term or not.
Clearly Demonstrate the Advantages
Most tenants without renters insurance are under the misconception that their landlord or the building’s insurance covers their loss. That’s simply not the case.
Educate your residents and let them know that renters insurance helps them to:
- Replace everything. Sometimes renters assume that because they don’t own expensive jewellery or electronics, they don’t need to bother with insurance. But if clothes, furniture and even inexpensive electronics are destroyed by fire or water damage, the replacement costs add up very quickly.
- Cover unexpected expenses. Tenant insurance covers short-term living expenses such as hotels and meals if tenants’ units become unfit for dwelling due to a claim.
- Protect against liability lawsuits. Legal costs resulting from personal liability for damaging other residents’ property or causing injury to visitors can cost thousands and thousands of dollars.
- Stay safe. Not only does tenant insurance cover belongings and expenses, it can also help cover any costs relating to identity theft or credit card fraud.
- Have peace of mind without paying a lot. Tenant insurance policies are very reasonably priced. For less than a dollar a day, tenants can secure ample coverage for their belongings, as well as liability insurance.
Use a Tenant Portal
A tenant portal makes it easy for your resident to buy insurance as well as provide annual proof of coverage. For example, in the Property Vista portal, your residents can click on “Resident Services” and get a free quote and buy coverage from our partner TenantSure or upload proof of insurance from another company.
Set Reminders
Landlords and property managers can easily check on the status of tenants’ insurance, and set renewal reminders, 90-days before expiration, 30-days before expiration and 15-days before expiration. This ensures no lapsed policies (Good news if you use TenantSure, policies automatically renew yearly, so you can rest assured that your residents are covered.)
Property Vista & TenantSure
Property Vista has partnered with TenantSure to offer your tenants the best deal on insurance coverage. It only costs pennies a day for your tenants to have comprehensive insurance that covers replacement costs, emergency living expenses, liability and even pet injuries! It’s fully integrated into your resident portal for easy claims notice to professional licensed adjusters you can trust. All building residents are pre-approved, with no credit checks, and it’s easy to include coverage for roommates. If you’re curious about how Property Vista can help you, talk to us here.
