Does my Condo Insurance Cover People Who Rent my Property?
Condo insurance is designed to protect the condominium owner and the unit itself from a variety of unforeseen situations. Even though the condo association has insurance as well, this does not generally cover damage or other events that occur exclusively inside of the unit.
Although there are many different policies and variations of policies, most of them state that the owner of the condo must be a resident of the unit in order for the insurance to be active. The term ‘resident’ may have different meanings in different states, but a good general definition is that you must reside in the condo for most of the year.
If the condo is being rented out exclusively to one or more parties that are not the owner, and the owner is not living in the unit, then more than likely the Condo Insurance will not cover the new tenants.
If the owner of the condominium is renting out only a portion of the unit and will continue to live on the premises then the policy is likely to remain in effect so far as covering the unit from unexpected damages not caused by the tenants. In this case, you will want to contact your insurance provider and ask specifically what is covered.
In the case of a short term rental, with the owner living outside of the unit, the insurance company should be contacted to see exactly what may or may not be covered in this instance.
In each of these situations, it may be advantageous to contact your insurance company and ask if there is anything they can do for you. It is possible that for a small additional premium amount they could extend the coverage to the tenants. It is in both parties best interest here to find a solution if possible.
One solution, should all else fail, is to purchase Landlord’s Rental Condominium Insurance. This can provide you with some protection against damage to the unit, legal fees that may arise from the tenancy, and in some cases even the tenant’s failure to pay rent.
There is, unfortunately, no way to definitively answer this question because so many different variables must be known to truly understand the question in the first place. The best course of action to take in a situation like this is to contact your insurance agent and see if there are any options you can take advantage of.