Las Vegas Landlord Insurance
Las Vegas landlord insurance is something no Las Vegas, Nevada landlord should ever be without. Even though you may already have house insurance on your Las Vegas, NV rental home, having extra coverage specifically for a landlord is the extra protection you need to keep your income flowing and keep yourself from having to pay expensive medical and legal fees out of your own pocket. As a matter of fact, Las Vegas landlord insurance is specifically for anyone who owns a dwelling in Las Vegas, NV and earns income from the rent paid for that home. Whether you are renting out a single home or an entire apartment building, even a room out of your own house, you qualify as a landlord.
Las Vegas, Nevada is often considered the entertainment capital of the world, but in recent years, it has also become a hot retirement city. For both of these reasons, owning rental homes in the city and its metropolitan area can be quite rewarding. However, if you are not insured, being a landlord can end up costing you a lot more than you bargained for.
Getting the Best Las Vegas, Nevada Rates
When you begin sorting through Nevada landlord insurance quotes, you will want to make sure you are getting the best rates on your Las Vegas landlord insurance. Whether or not you will get a discount and how much is entirely up to the company you are working with, but there are many things you can do that might help you save money. A lot of companies will consider your past history, extra effort put into securing your rental and screening your tenants, and even what sort of professional organizations you belong to.
One of the best ways to get discounts and lower rates on your Las Vegas landlord insurance is to increase the safety and security of your house or apartment. This includes making sure any repairs that need to be made are taken care of and anything that could be hazardous to your tenants is fixed or cleaned up. However, some Las Vegas landlord insurance companies will give you extra discounts for extra security. This might include adding a burglar alarm, dead bolts and extra locks, fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, and anything of that nature.
If you have not yet purchased your rental home, you might want to think about buying a newer one. Premiums tend to be lower for homes built within the last few years compared to those that are older. Also, you will want to think about your own history. A good credit score or rating may mean lower premiums, and if you have other landlord policies and even your car, life, health or property insurance with that same company, they may give you a discount for doing so much business exclusively with them. If you do not have a lot of claims in your recent insurance history, it may also mean a little off your final price.
Proving that you are taking your job as a landlord seriously is another way to save when purchasing your insurance policy. This can mean joining a professional association or hiring a property manager. Companies also see this as you being experienced enough to know what could go wrong and assume you will try to prevent it. Seasoned landlords also tend to screen their tenants, which is another way you may save money. Performing criminal background checks, rental histories, and checking credit scores is great way to prove you are taking your job seriously.
What Does it Protect Against?
Like any type of policy, there are some certain perils your policy will cover and certain ones it will not. Your basic Las Vegas landlord insurance will protect your actual building, your contents (with contents insurance), and help you in the event you have to pay for legal and medical fees (liability), but what does it protect against? Again, that will vary by company, but most of them do have a few basics in common.
Most Las Vegas landlord insurance policies will probably cover fire, lightning damage, wind, hail, tornadoes, smoke, theft, explosions, vehicle and aircraft impact, social disorder, broken glass, explosions, fallen trees and limbs, snow and ice damage, plumbing issues such as freezing, electrical and chemical damage, and other similar accidents. You will need to be aware that some Las Vegas landlord insurance may not cover flooding or earthquakes. Since Las Vegas is often subject to flash flooding from torrential rains, this may be something you want to talk to your agent about. Remember never to hesitate to ask questions about adding anything to your Las Vegas landlord insurance. It is always better to ask and be told no than to take a risk on your investment.
