Renting Your Home Out? Do You Have It Covered?
When renting out your home, you need still need to protect it with an insurance policy. Tenants usually get a policy to protect their own belongings. Did you know that with pets they can have other issues that require more protection? You may find that your current insurance company may not cover you if there is a problem.
While some home insurance policies can change when we rent out to tenants, the part that becomes interesting is when pets are included in the lease. Pets are a big part of family life in many areas and it is good to consider just what that entails when we become landlords. In my area of Orange County it seems that most people have a cat or a dog that they want to bring along with them each and every time they move. Landlords have issues with pets as they can be a nuisance if not properly managed. What I see regularly is a pet deposit of one month or more to insure the owner receives the home without major damage from the pet. 
The insurance company sees this very differently though. Pets are usually included in a homeowner policy, but new guidelines are present in just who and what is insured. Many home insurance policies, even the ones that include pets, exclude certain aggressive breeds of dog. Checking your policy prior to deciding to rent is always a good idea. Policy coverage and deductibles can change as well as costs. It is always good to know these things before rather than after the fact. Truth is that the list now has included recently Rottweiler’s, Pit bulls and German Shepherds.
I recently had a client in Newburgh that produced DNA testing and was refused a rental based on that. Both the landlord and the tenant were disappointed as the home was the perfect situation for both.
We were quoted information locally in Newburgh NY, that anything with a wolf history was of issue, but we were questioning how dogs aren’t related to the wolf. Below is the list that was relayed by the insurance company to give us some information on the breeds in question.
Akita - Alaskan - Chow Chow - Doberman Pincher - German Shepherd - Malamute
Pitt Bull - Rottweiler - Siberian Husky - Staffordshire Bull Terrier - Wolf dog
OH MY!!
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