Being in the business, you’re sure to know “the distinctions between insurance products available to both landlords and tenants on rental properties.” Even so, some of that information might not be completely clear, especially if you’re newer to property management or are in need of a bit of a refresher course. Read up on some of these tips from a professional insurance agent to learn more about recent trends to employ and advice to follow so that you are as knowledge about property insurance as possible.
Look into All Property Insurance Options
Do you know which type of insurance you should be carrying as a property manager of any type of property? Learn more about the types of policies offered by your insurance company of choice or by any prospective companies that you are considering a partnership with. “Determining what the policy includes is necessary to put the correct amount of coverage in place.” After all, if you aren’t sure what’s covered under a particular policy, you have no idea what to expect if disaster strikes. You don’t want to pay an enormous sum to cover damages if you’d previously believed that it would be handled by your property insurance.
Again, ensure that you know “what is and isn’t covered” so that your business doesn’t suffer and, as a result, you don’t disappoint or upset your renters or tenants. For example, if there is water damage in the building that affects your customers, you want to be able to fix it as soon as possible. If your insurance policy doesn’t cover water damage for whatever reason, though, you may not have the funds to spare to address the issue, at least not right away. As a result, tenants or renters will likely be frustrated working or living with leaks and other potentially-worse damages. This is the kind of scenario that you want to try and avoid by covering all of your property insurance bases.
If you are a residential property manager, then you may require your residents to carry renter’s insurance in case of any accidents within the units. If you don’t require this insurance, then consider changing your policy. If your residents have renter’s insurance, it gives you as the property manager that “extra layer of protection from liability claims that [may] arise at the unit.” This clause isn’t likely to put off potential renters and can do you a lot of favors, so seriously consider it as part of your property insurance security measures.
Insurance experts suggest (strongly) that property managers “take a proactive approach to your property management and mitigating risk.” Since you never really know what’s going to happen, anything can happen. The last thing you want to do as a business professional is to be, or even appear, unprepared. The most serious and experienced property managers have adequate property insurance to keep their own business secure and to keep tenants or renters happy. Taking measures that can reduce risk over time are ideal, so make repairs or updates that seem small with the knowledge that they will make a big difference in safety later.
Doing your due diligence when it comes to research will help you to avoid major headaches later on. First make sure that you have a solid property insurance to cover your residential or commercial business. Next, double check that your property management software is up to speed. If you haven’t updated in a while and are considering new options, look into how Budgetrac Property Management software can improve your day to day work. Budgetrac is easy to use without sacrificing versatility. Its real-time functionality provides you with the means to access any and all tenant or renter data in no time at all. Choosing between insurance policies can be a difficult decision, but picking a software system for property management is a breeze. Let this “suite of solutions” work for you.