house insurance

[rubbachicken]

can someone shed some light as to how house insurance works if you have a property let to different people
the property gets damaged, would the landlord have a policy on the house to cover any such accidental damage, or is it down the the tennants to have insurance cover or pay for the damages
if there is insurance would a claim of say $2000 affect the next years premium by much
i guess it might be different state to state

i need to know how it goes in massachusetts


if anyone can help me please, i'd be very grateful

 

[eckybay]

In my understanding, in Ohio, the owner insures the building but the tenant is responsible for making sure their belongings get insured. Say there was a fire. The owner's insurance would cover the damage to the structure, but would not cover the loss of any of the tenants items. The tenant would need their own policy for that. Not sure how a small claim would effect premiums. Granted, this is for Ohio, so I'm not sure this helps you much....

 

[rubbachicken]

the damage is fire damage to the outside of the house, a small area of wood cladding about a square foot and a small area of stucko
then the wall would need repainding to match the original colors

 

[Web Monkey]

The landlord might have insurance. It's optional and expensive and much more difficult to get, since there are more and larger claims on rental property than on owner-occupied property.

If the landlord puts in a claim the premium might stay the same, might go up or the policy might not be renewed next year. There's really no way to tell.

If you're a landlord the best way to prevent damage is to pre-screen your tennants with a background-checking service. Forget about doing it yourself. The bad ones will just lie and some of the most innocent looking people can cause the most damage.

Terry

can someone shed some light as to how house insurance works if you have a property let to different people
the property gets damaged, would the landlord have a policy on the house to cover any such accidental damage, or is it down the the tennants to have insurance cover or pay for the damages
if there is insurance would a claim of say $2000 affect the next years premium by much
i guess it might be different state to state

i need to know how it goes in massachusetts


if anyone can help me please, i'd be very grateful

 

[eckybay]

I would think that the building owner's insurance would cover this no problem, assuming that they had insurance on just the dwelling.

Since renters insurance only covers the renters personal items, there's no way I can see that policy covering it.

That said, depending on how the damage occurred - if the tenant did something - say used a grill too close to the house or deliberately set a fire outside - I can see the landlord wanting the tenant to pay for the damages since it would be beyond normal wear and tear that is normally covered in a lease.

 

[Web Monkey]

the damage is fire damage to the outside of the house, a small area of wood cladding about a square foot and a small area of stucko
then the wall would need repainding to match the original colors

Without sounding too negative, this could be thousands of dollars worth of damage if the Landlord wants the damaged area removed and replaced and entire wall (or house) repainted.

It's pretty much impossible to repaint a small section of the outside of a house without it looking like it's been patched.

Terry

 

[RonDawg]

Fire damage to the actual structure, if I'm not mistaken, is usually covered by whatever insurance coverage (either comprehensive, or fire only) that is paid for by the owner.

Renter's insurance, if any, usually just covers the contents and not the structure itself. Same if you live in a condominium development where the units share common walls and a roof, since the structure is usually covered by a policy purchased by the Homeowner's Association and paid for through HOA fees (that's the case where I live).

In all the places I've rented, I've never been asked to provide fire insurance for the structure, only for my own contents inside. Then again, I've been lucky that I've never (knock on wood) ever had to file a claim on it.

 

[ianr33]

The owners property insurance should cover it if the damage was accidental.Insurance on a rental property is expensive compared to residential home insurance. (and apparently is known as a "fire policy" )

If the damage was due to stupidity/deliberate take it out of the renters security deposit.if that is not enough to cover it take the renter to court if they refuse to pay (And make sure that the lease clearly states that they are responsible for damage in excess of the deposit)

 

[Peter_C]

On another note, it was recommended to me to never have your auto policy and home owners on the same policy. Reason being if you get in a car accident, then have a second claim against either, they can cancel you as high risk. Keeping them seperate aleviates that.

 

[rubbachicken]

the fire was an accident
and not caused by any of the tennants, but by a friend of one of the tennants
this is a picture of the damage, click on the thumbnail

the side needs to be painted and the area at the bottom to be re-stucko'd and the wood paneling to be matched up
there's NO internal damage to the wall, they can see the inside from the basement