I want to rent out my home. Are there any insurance issues that I should take into consideration?

Of course, there are! There are some unique insurance issues that renters must face. A standard homeowners policy isn't suitable for rental property, because:

• You must be more concerned about liability issues
• You must protect yourself against the loss of rental income. Tenants may purchase renters insurance, but even if they do, it will not provide coverage for you as the owner of the property
• Unless you provide furnished accommodations, you don't need to insure the contents of the house

Thankfully, there is a policy designed specifically to meet the needs of rental property owners. A policy for rental property can be sold by most insurers who deal in commercial insurance. There are many variations among rental property policies. Some only insure property on an actual cash value basis while others provide replacement cost coverage. Because of such variations, shopping around will be necessary. A proper rental property policy should provide the following:

• Coverage for loss of use, if you lose rental income as a result of a covered peril
• Broad coverage for the physical structure of the house, on an open-peril or named-peril basis
• Coverage for your property left on the premises (maintenance equipment, appliances, etc...)
• Coverage for other structures located on the property (sheds, garages, etc...) This coverage is usually limited to 10 percent of the coverage for the house
• Liability coverage for property damage or injury that occur on insured property
• Medical payments coverage - for medical expenses that take place from injuries to others on the insured property