Do I need to switch my homeowners policy if I rent out my house?

Yes, you must notify your carrier and switch to a landlord dwelling policy.

What do we use Steadily Insurance for in Georgia?

Steadily Insurance is a non-admitted excess and surplus lines carrier specializing in landlord and short-term rental insurance.

What does loss of rents coverage do on a landlord policy?

Loss of rents coverage pays the rental income you would have collected while your property is being repaired after a covered loss.

What is the difference between a landlord policy and homeowners insurance?

A landlord dwelling policy covers your rental property's structure, your liability as the property owner, and loss of rental income.

What does a Georgia landlord insurance policy actually cover?

A landlord policy covers the dwelling structure, other structures on the property, loss of rents, and premises liability.

Landlord FAQs

How long does loss of rents pay after a Georgia fire or storm?

All FAQs

Quick answer: Loss of rents pays from the date of covered damage until repairs finish or the policy time or dollar limit is reached, whichever comes first.

How long does loss of rents pay after a Georgia fire or storm?

Loss of rents pays for what insurers call the period of restoration: the stretch of time from when covered damage makes a unit uninhabitable until repairs are complete, or the policy's stated time limit runs out, whichever comes first. The clock starts on the date of the covered loss, not the date a tenant actually moves out or a contractor is hired. It stops when the unit is restored to a livable condition, so any delay in that timeline, a permitting backlog, a contractor shortage, or a supply delay on materials, extends how long the tenant would have needed to stay out, though the policy's own time or dollar limit still caps what is paid.

Which events actually trigger a loss of rents claim?

Loss of rents is tied to the underlying dwelling coverage on your landlord policy. The triggering event has to be a named peril your policy covers. Common covered perils include fire, lightning, windstorm, hail, explosion, and sudden water damage from a burst pipe. Flood damage from a storm surge is excluded from a standard policy and requires separate flood insurance. If the excluded peril causes the damage, loss of rents does not respond either. See why flood is excluded from standard home policies for more on that gap.

For example, a rental property in Savannah suffers roof damage from a named storm. The tenant cannot safely stay during repairs, which take six weeks. If the policy covers windstorm, loss of rents replaces six weeks of rental income. If the same storm caused flooding and the landlord had no flood policy, neither the dwelling repairs nor the lost rental income would be covered.

What conditions must be met before loss of rents pays?

Several conditions typically must be satisfied before the coverage activates:

A covered peril causes physical damage to the property.
The damage makes the unit uninhabitable or unrentable.
The tenant is displaced, or the unit cannot be re-rented, while repairs are underway.
The income loss is a direct result of the covered damage.

What loss of rents does not cover is equally important. A tenant who stops paying rent and stays put is a collections problem, not an insured loss. A tenant who moves out voluntarily leaves a vacancy, not an insurance claim. An empty unit sitting between tenants is not a covered event.

What sub-limit and time limit apply to a Georgia claim?

Policies typically set a dollar sub-limit on loss of rents, sometimes expressed as a percentage of the dwelling limit, and a separate time limit on how long the coverage applies within the period of restoration. Both limits vary by carrier and policy form. Georgia landlords with higher-priced rentals, units in older buildings that take longer to repair, or properties in storm-prone areas along the Georgia coast or I-20 corridor may find that a standard sub-limit runs out before repairs finish.

For example, a duplex in Columbus renting at $1,800 per month suffers fire damage requiring five months of repairs. If the loss of rents sub-limit is $6,000, coverage runs out after roughly three months and the landlord absorbs the final two months of lost income out of pocket. Reviewing that sub-limit against your actual monthly rent before a loss is the time to catch the gap.

The premium impact of increasing a loss of rents sub-limit is typically modest relative to the income protection it adds. How the dwelling is valued also matters: a replacement cost versus actual cash value settlement affects how quickly repairs are funded and, by extension, how long the loss of rents clock runs.

How does a coverage review help a Georgia landlord find gaps?

Loss of rents coverage keeps your mortgage, insurance premium, and property taxes serviced even when the unit is empty for reasons outside your control. A licensed advisor can review your current policy limits, identify any sub-limit gaps, and confirm that your covered perils match the actual risk profile of the area where the rental sits. Learn more about what a free coverage review involves, then schedule one to go over your landlord policy in detail.