Do I need landlord insurance if I rent a room in my house?

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While short-term rentals and long-term room rentals have been around for some time, insurance companies have yet to establish a consistent approach to insuring homes that offer rentals. This article covers some key issues related to room rentals to ensure you are prepared to discuss your needs and options with your agent. The Armadillo Insurance Agency team, serving the Austin, TX community, can provide coverage that meets your needs when renting a room in your house.

Landlord Insurance for Tenant-Occupied Property

Landlord insurance traditionally covers owners engaged in long-term rentals. These owners treat their properties as business investments, with landlord insurance covering tenant-occupied properties for:

  • Property damage caused by tenants or their guests.
  • Liability coverage for injuries on the property to tenants or their guests.
  • Loss of rental income when the property becomes uninhabitable due to a covered loss.

Landlords can obtain additional coverage for vandalism, burglary, and other issues.

Owner-Occupied Property Room Rentals

Insurance companies vary in coverage when the owner rents a room or rooms in a property the owner occupies. Some insurers consider rooms rented on occasion to be covered by your home policy, though most require a rider or endorsement that increases your premiums.

Conversely, an owner who regularly rents rooms treats their home as a business, so insurers generally require landlord insurance to be in place. If you currently rent or are considering renting part of your home, work with your insurance agent to ensure you have the right insurance for your mixed personal and business use.

Working with the Armadillo Insurance Agency in Austin

The Armadillo Insurance Agency serves homeowners and landlords in Austin, TX, and the surrounding area. Call (512) 249-2300 or stop by to properly insure your home.

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Will My Home Insurance Cover Using it as an Airbnb?

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With a wealth of activities and lifestyle amenities, Austin, TX, is a popular destination for Airbnb guests. This popularity can translate into attractive returns on investment for those who rent out Airbnb properties. However, having the right insurance for these real estate ventures is crucial. After all, you’re renting to strangers, and vetting every guest thoroughly is impossible. At Armadillo Insurance Agency in Austin, TX, we want you to understand that traditional home insurance policies usually don’t cover home-sharing activities unless specific amendments or additional policies are in place.

Limitations of Standard Home Insurance

Standard home insurance is designed for personal living spaces, not commercial rental properties like Airbnb. When you rent out your home, whether a single room or the entire property, you introduce risks that typical policies aren’t designed to cover. These risks can include guest injuries or property damage.

Additional Coverage for Short-Term Rentals

To ensure you’re covered while hosting on Airbnb, you may need to extend your existing home insurance policy or purchase additional coverage:

  • An endorsement to an existing policy – Some insurance companies offer an endorsement that modifies your current homeowner’s policy to provide coverage for short-term rental activities.
  • Commercial Property Insurance – This is more extensive than a simple endorsement and covers property used for business, including renting out your home.

Don’t let a claim derail your Airbnb hosting dreams. Before listing your home on Airbnb, discuss your plans with your insurance provider at Armadillo Insurance Agency in Austin, TX. We can advise on the best course of action, whether it’s adding an endorsement or considering a separate policy to cover all bases.

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Four Things to Know About the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)

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If you live in an area that’s high risk for floods, you may need flood insurance. The professionals at Armadillo Insurance Agency, serving Austin, TX, can help answer your questions about flood insurance, and we can get you a policy that will meet your needs. Having the right kind of insurance for your home is important, so if you need flood insurance, we can help.

1. Flood Insurance May Be Required For Your Mortgage

Some people are required to get flood insurance to secure their mortgage. If you’re buying a home, your lender should inform you if you need flood insurance to approve the loan. Ask your lender about this before you proceed with the purchase.

2. The NFIP Is Managed by FEMA

The National Flood Insurance Program is managed by FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Most private insurance companies do not offer flood insurance with home insurance.

3. If You Need Flood Insurance, Your Normal Insurance Agent Can Help

Even though FEMA manages the NFIP, you can still get flood insurance through your regular insurance agent. You will need to get this in addition to your home insurance because flood insurance and home insurance offer different types of coverage.

4. Flood Insurance Can Help During Recovery After Flood Events

Even if you aren’t required to get flood insurance for your mortgage, you may choose to get flood insurance anyway. Flood insurance helps during the recovery after flood events. If you’re a homeowner who lives in an area where floods are common, or if you are buying a home in an area where there are frequent floods, you may need flood insurance.

Call Armadillo Insurance Agency, serving Austin, TX, today to learn more about getting flood insurance.

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What is additional living expense (ALE) coverage on a home policy?

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At Armadillo Insurance Agency in Austin, TX, our goal is to empower our policyholders by ensuring they have peace of mind following a covered peril to their homes. We strive to provide the knowledge you need and are committed to guiding you through the process.

Understanding Additional Living Expense Coverage (ALE)

We believe every homeowner should be aware of their home insurance policy’s additional living expense coverage. After a house fire, burglary, windstorm, or other covered peril, additional living expense coverage will cover the increased costs you incur due to the incident. These expenses could be from dining out when displaced or the loss of rent you are dealing with because part of your rented residence is uninhabitable.

ALE will also reimburse you if you are required to relocate after a covered peril and you are lodging in a hotel or renting a house temporarily. ALE also helps to pay for the extra mileage you are required to travel because you are displaced from your home. Other things possibly covered by ALE include:

  • Pet boarding expenses: If your pet can’t accompany you to your temporary housing, it needs to be boarded until you can return to your home.
  • Furniture rental: This is to obtain specific items you were once accustomed to in your residence (within reason).
  • Moving Expenses
  • Laundry Services / Laundry Costs: You can get reimbursed for the added costs of doing laundry at a laundromat or laundry service while you are displaced from your home.

Remember to save your receipts to submit for reimbursement when temporarily displaced from your home.

Insurance Questions and Concerns

Armadillo Insurance Agency in Austin, TX, can help if you have any questions or concerns about ALE coverage. Call (512) 249-2300.

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Why Do You Need Flood Insurance If You Have Home Insurance?

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If you have home insurance, you have a lot of protection against many risks. However, it doesn’t cover you against all risks. To be fully covered, you must have both home and flood insurance. All homeowners need to have it, even if they live in areas they don’t think can flood. It’s important to get flood insurance when you don’t have flood insurance. Call us at Armadillo Insurance Agency in Austin, TX, to get started.

Home Insurance and Flooding

Home insurance policies insure you against many damaging events that can happen. However, floods are specifically excluded from these policies. That means your home policy will never cover any damage from a flood. Floods can cause an enormous amount of damage, and this can be extraordinarily expensive to repair. If you only have a home policy, paying for those repairs will be up to you.

Flooding Can Happen Anywhere

Some homeowners don’t get a flood insurance policy because they don’t think their home can get flooded. But as we see regularly on the news, floods happen all over. You don’t have to live in a flood zone for it to happen. Floods occur in cities, mountains, deserts, suburbs, etc. Virtually any home could be flooded, and it doesn’t have to be near a body of water. About 20% of the flood claims from damaged homes aren’t in a flood zone. That means that every homeowner should always have this insurance in their home to protect against floods.

Get Flood Insurance in Austin!

To make sure you’re protected, and have peace of mind knowing that you are, make sure you have flood insurance. To find out more about it, call us at Armadillo Insurance Agency in Austin, TX.

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Benefits of Living in a Condo Compared to a Townhome

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When searching for your next home, you may find yourself choosing between a townhome or a condo in many suburban and urban areas. If you’re undecided, here are some reasons why you might want to opt for a condo.

No Lawn Maintenance

One of the advantages of living in a condo is that you don’t have to worry about lawn maintenance. Most condos feature a small porch for an outdoor patio and are stacked on different levels. While there’s usually a shared green space for outdoor activities, you’re not responsible for its upkeep. In contrast, with a townhome, you’ll have a small space that you’ll need to maintain and landscape.

Amenities

While townhomes often lack amenities due to their larger property size, condos are typically part of communities that offer shared amenities like pools and fitness centers. As an owner, you can use these facilities by paying your share of the Homeowners Association (HOA) fees for their maintenance. Someone else will ensure these areas are operational and cleaned regularly.

Parking Lots and Garages

With townhomes, you may or may not have a garage for your car, and you could end up parking on the road. In contrast, condos usually provide a designated parking space or a parking garage to protect your vehicle when you’re at home. Your car could be more at risk for property damage or theft with a townhome than with a condo.

Living in a condo reduces the maintenance and upkeep you have as a homeowner, making it an ideal choice for those who travel frequently or have busy lifestyles. If you’re in the Austin, TX area, or surrounding communities, you can get a personal insurance quote today from Armadillo Insurance Agency.

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Temporary Location Coverage in Commercial Insurance

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Temporary location coverage is vital to commercial insurance. It helps businesses, particularly around Austin, TX, continue operations from an alternate location due to unforeseen events. Such events could render their primary location uninhabitable or inaccessible due to a fire, natural disaster, or major repairs. This coverage ensures businesses can function without incurring significant financial losses.

The Inclusions of Temporary Location Coverage

When circumstances force a business to relocate temporarily, this coverage helps bear the costs associated with operating from the alternative location. Such costs might include rent, utilities, and equipment transport expenses to the new site. The coverage may also extend to business interruption losses, thereby helping the company maintain financial stability even if operations slow down during relocation.

For example, if a fire damages a restaurant and extensive repairs are required, temporary location coverage would help to shoulder the costs of setting up a temporary kitchen or renting a nearby space to continue serving customers. This would allow the business to continue operations and generate revenue while its main location is being restored.

Knowing the Limits and Exclusions

Though temporary location coverage is valuable, it does have limitations. Typically, it only covers the additional expenses resulting from the temporary relocation. It’s not intended for long-term solutions. Furthermore, certain causes of damage, such as floods or earthquakes, might not be covered unless specific supplemental policies are in place. Your insurer can guide you on what’s covered in your specific policy.

Let Armadillo Insurance Agency Help You Understand Insurance Better

Armadillo Insurance Agency can provide all the information you need when acquiring insurance. We serve locations in and around Austin, TX. Contact us today for more details.

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Protecting Your Investments With Landlord Insurance

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If you’ve invested in rental properties, you want to do everything you can to protect those investments. Landlord insurance is one way to do this. Here at Armadillo Insurance Agency, serving Austin, TX, and the surrounding areas, we want to help clients understand their insurance options. Here are a few ways you can protect your properties with landlord insurance. 

Natural Disasters 

Natural disasters happen with no warning. The best any property owner can do is have the right insurance to protect against the financial expenses of rebuilding. If a natural disaster strikes your properties, you’ll be given the necessary funds to make repairs or rebuild if necessary. A natural disaster could leave you in financial hardship without this safety net. 

Tenant Damage

You can do all you can to vet your tenants before they move in, but you never know how they will treat your property. If tenants cause extensive damage to your property, you can evict, but what about the cost of the repairs? If a security deposit isn’t enough to cover those expenses, you could be left with out-of-pocket costs. A good landlord insurance policy can help pay for these expenses when unexpected tenant damage happens. 

Fire Damage

Fire is another threat to your rental properties. If a fire occurs, you could suddenly find yourself without an income stream. You could also be facing the expense of repairs or rebuilding. If you are properly prepared with the right type of insurance, this could leave you in a difficult financial situation. 

If you’d like to learn more about landlord insurance, please contact Armadillo Insurance Agency, which serves Austin, TX, and the surrounding areas.  

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How Home Insurance Protects Your Assets

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Protecting your assets, such as a home, vehicles, and possessions, is crucial. Part of that protection includes having home insurance. Home insurance is a way to secure yourself financially against various risks. Homeowners face many risks that could end up being costly. If there is a cost of many thousands due to accidents or other incidents, you could be forced to sell off your assets to pay for the damage. With home insurance, you’re covered in several ways, so you won’t have to sell your assets due to a damaging event. Contact us at Armadillo Insurance Agency in Austin, TX to get started with home insurance.

Protection for the Home and Belongings

If your home were damaged, the repair costs could amount to tens of thousands of dollars, possibly more. Without home insurance, you’d likely have to sell your home to someone who could afford to fix it. Selling assets is a way to access the money you’ll need because you don’t have insurance. The same is true if all of your belongings were damaged or destroyed — to replace everything could mean selling off your assets, including your home.

Liability Protection

Another form of financial protection you get from home insurance is liability coverage. This safeguards you financially in case someone gets injured in your home. A severe injury can cost a significant amount, and your assets could be at risk if you have to pay those costs out of pocket. Always ensure you have home insurance to prevent this from happening.

Get Home Insurance in Austin, TX

Not only is home insurance intelligent, but it’s also typically required for home buyers. Call us at Armadillo Insurance Agency in Austin, TX to learn more.

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I don’t live in a flood zone. Do I need flood insurance?

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Most homeowners insurance policies don’t include flood insurance, so it can be difficult to determine if it’s a logical or wise investment. Speaking with one of our Austin, TX, team members at Armadillo Insurance Agency is a great way to determine if it’s a good investment. Our team is committed to helping people make educated decisions about insurance.

What is flood insurance?

Flood insurance can be purchased through the government-based National Flood Insurance Program or NFIP and private insurance companies. It’s designed to cover any losses as a result of flooding to the structure of your home, its walls, interior, exterior, your personal belongings, and more. A flood insurance policy covers any damage that results from flooding. This coverage also includes cleaning your home and its surrounding land, electrical, plumbing, flooring, basements, and more. Flood insurance also covers other structures or dwellings on your property.

I don’t live in a flood zone. Do I need flood insurance?

Believe it or not, annually, flooding occurs in many non-flood-zoned areas and moderate or low-risk areas. As a result, flood insurance is a wise investment. Natural disasters are unpredictable and hard to anticipate. It’s often better to be prepared for a disaster rather than unprepared. Flood insurance is that extra layer of peace of mind that can be key if you’re faced with an unexpected natural disaster like flooding. However, an insurance agent can help you decide on investing in flood insurance. If you have questions, call us. We’d be happy to answer them. 

 

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