The day a tenant moves in, your homeowners policy moves out.
The moment a property becomes a rental — a house you moved out of, or an investment you bought to lease — a homeowners policy is the wrong form, and a claim can be denied for it. A landlord (dwelling) policy covers what a rental actually exposes you to: the building, your liability as the owner, and the rent you'd lose if a covered loss made it unrentable. National General writes it on Allstate-group A+ paper, and we run it against our Allstate contract and 40-plus markets.
The short answer
A landlord (rental dwelling) policy covers a property you own but don't live in — the form a homeowners policy can't be. National General's rental coverage protects the building, other structures, the landlord-owned property you provide (appliances, furnishings), your landlord liability if a tenant or visitor is hurt, and fair rental income that replaces rent lost while a covered loss makes the unit unrentable. What it does not cover is your tenant's belongings — those need a renters policy. It's Allstate Insurance Group A+ paper, usually required by your lender, and we run it against our Allstate contract and 40-plus markets.
A homeowners policy is for a home you live in.
The most common — and most expensive — landlord mistake is renting out a house on the policy that was written for living in it.
denied claim where homeowners quits
A homeowners policy assumes an owner-occupant. Once the home is tenant-occupied, that assumption is false — a carrier can deny a claim or non-renew once it learns the property is a rental.
Renting it out changes the risk — so it changes the policy.
A rental carries exposures a homeowners policy was never priced for: a tenant or their guest injured on the property, the income you lose if a fire makes it unrentable, and the simple fact that you're not there to catch a small problem before it's a big one. Insurers know this, which is why they treat a rented home as a different risk entirely.
A landlord (dwelling) policy is built for it: it insures the structure as a rental, covers your liability as the property owner, and replaces lost rent after a covered loss. If you moved out and started renting your old house — even to family — that's the moment to switch the policy, not after a claim gets denied.
Five things a rental actually needs.
The Dwelling
Repairs or rebuilds the rental structure after a covered loss — fire, wind, hail and more. Insured to rebuild cost, not the price you paid or its market value.
Other Structures
Detached garages, fences, sheds and the like on the rental property — the parts of the lot that aren't the main building.
Landlord Property & Furnishings
The appliances and furnishings you provide — the refrigerator, the washer and dryer, a furnished unit's contents — covered when a covered loss damages them.
Landlord Liability
If a tenant or visitor is injured on the property and you're found responsible — a fall on a broken step, say — this covers legal defense, judgments and settlements up to your limit.
Fair Rental Income
Replaces the rent you lose while a covered loss makes the unit unrentable and it's being repaired — so a fire doesn't stop your mortgage payment along with your income.
Optional Coverages
Higher liability limits, an umbrella over the portfolio, water backup, ordinance & law and more — matched to how many units you own and how they're built.
Fair rental income — and what it won't do.
Fair rental income (loss of rents) is the landlord version of loss-of-use: when a covered loss makes the property uninhabitable, it replaces the rent you'd have collected while it's repaired. It's typically written as a share of your dwelling limit, so the bigger and higher-rent the property, the more of this you want.
It follows a covered loss — not an empty unit or an unpaid tenant.
This is the boundary landlords get wrong. Fair rental income responds only to rent lost because a covered physical loss made the property unrentable. It does not cover ordinary vacancy between tenants, and it does not cover a tenant who simply stops paying or breaks the lease — that's rent default, a separate exposure with its own tools. We'll make sure you know exactly which gap each policy fills, so you're not counting on the wrong one.
The most landlord-favorable state — and why that's not insurance.
Arkansas is, notably, the only state in the country with no implied warranty of habitability. Its minimum standards under Act 1052 of 2021 (for leases beginning after November 1, 2021) require basics like running water, electricity, working plumbing, a sound roof and functioning heat and air — but a tenant's essentially only remedy if those aren't met is to terminate the lease. Arkansas also lets you set security deposits up to two months' rent and generally lets landlord obligations be defined in the lease.
The law decides who fixes the furnace. Your policy decides who pays when the building burns.
A landlord-favorable statute shapes your lease. It does nothing for your insurance exposure — a fire, a windstorm, or a tenant or guest hurt on the property and suing you is unaffected by any of it. Two moves we push on Arkansas landlords: require your tenants to carry renters insurance in the lease (Arkansas lets you, and it shifts their belongings and a slice of liability onto their policy) and ask to be listed as an additional interest so you're told if it lapses — then carry landlord liability limits and an umbrella that match the exposure, not the legal minimum. This is general information, not legal advice.
What a landlord policy isn't.
Three things get assumed into a landlord policy that aren't there. Knowing them now saves a bad surprise later.
It's not your tenant's belongings.
Your policy covers your building and your property. A tenant's furniture, electronics and clothes are theirs to insure — which is exactly why requiring renters insurance protects both of you.
It's not flood or earthquake — and it's not a short-term-rental policy.
Flood and earthquake are separate (Arkansas sits near the New Madrid seismic zone). And if you rent short-term through Airbnb or VRBO, a standard landlord policy may not respond the way you expect — that's a different exposure and a different conversation. Tell us how the property is actually used.
The pieces we'll talk through.
Priced on the property — not a webpage.
Every rental prices differently, so a planning number would mislead — this isn't a quote or a guarantee. Worth knowing: landlord insurance is generally a deductible expense against rental income — check with a tax professional. What actually moves the number:
Strong balance sheet, honest caveats.
On August 28, 2025, AM Best affirmed the members of Allstate Insurance Group — the companies behind National General's US property policies — at a Financial Strength Rating of A+ (Superior), stable outlook.
Where National General is strong on landlord
- It covers the real rental exposure. Dwelling, landlord liability, landlord furnishings, and fair rental income — the pieces a rented property actually needs.
- It scales. One rental or a growing portfolio, with an umbrella available over the top of your landlord and auto liability.
- A+ (Superior) Allstate-group paper, and a property platform whose Fair Rental Income and Landlord Furnishings coverages are built for exactly this.
- Independent-agency distribution, so we run it against our Allstate contract and 40-plus markets instead of guessing.
What we'll tell you honestly
- Require tenant renters insurance. Arkansas lets you write it into the lease — it's the cheapest, most effective way to move risk off your policy.
- Insure to rebuild, not to market. The most common landlord mistake is under-insuring the dwelling; we build the value honestly.
- The law doesn't reduce your exposure. Arkansas being landlord-favorable is about your lease, not your coverage — carry real liability limits.
- Fair rental income isn't rent default, short-term rental is a different policy, and we don't adjust your claim — but we advocate hard and run every market.
The other lines we place — and where they live.
National General landlord questions.
Can't I just keep my homeowners policy on a house I rent out?
No — and it's a costly assumption. A homeowners policy is written for a home you live in. The day the property becomes a rental, that form no longer fits the risk, and a carrier can deny a claim or non-renew once it learns the home is tenant-occupied.
A landlord (rental dwelling) policy is the correct form: it covers the building as a rental, your liability as the property owner, and the rent you'd lose if a covered loss made it unrentable. If you moved out and started renting your old house, that's exactly the moment to switch.
What does a National General landlord policy cover?
The core is the building itself, other structures on the property, landlord-owned contents like appliances or furnishings you provide, landlord liability if a tenant or visitor is injured and you're found responsible, and fair rental income that replaces lost rent while a covered loss makes the unit unrentable. National General's property program supports the rental exposure with Fair Rental Income and Landlord Furnishings coverage.
What it does not cover is your tenant's belongings — those are the tenant's responsibility through a renters policy.
What is fair rental income coverage?
It replaces the rent you lose when a covered loss — a fire, a storm, a burst pipe — makes the property uninhabitable while it's repaired. It's typically written as a share of your dwelling limit.
What it does not do is cover ordinary vacancy between tenants, or a tenant who simply stops paying or breaks the lease — that's a different exposure. It only responds to lost rent that follows a covered physical loss to the property.
Does Arkansas's landlord-friendly law mean I need less insurance?
No — and this is where Arkansas landlords get caught. Arkansas is the only state with no implied warranty of habitability, and its minimum standards under Act 1052 of 2021 give a tenant essentially one remedy if they aren't met: terminate the lease. That's about the lease relationship. It does nothing for your insurance exposure.
A fire, a windstorm, or a tenant or guest injured on the property and suing you is unaffected by how landlord-favorable the statute is. The law decides who has to fix the furnace; your policy decides who pays when the building burns. This is general information, not legal advice.
Should I require my tenants to carry renters insurance?
Yes, and Arkansas lets you write it into the lease. Requiring tenants to carry renters insurance moves their belongings and a share of liability off your policy and onto theirs, and asking to be named an additional interest means you're notified if it lapses.
It's one of the cheapest, most effective risk-transfer moves a landlord can make. We can set your tenants up with renters coverage at the same time we write your landlord policy.
How do I get a National General landlord quote in Bentonville or Rogers?
Start at our personal lines quote form or call (479) 286-1066. Tell us the property — the address, roughly what it would cost to rebuild, the monthly rent, and whether it's a single rental or part of a portfolio.
If you short-term rent it (Airbnb or VRBO), say so, because that's a different exposure. We'll match it to the right landlord form and run it against our Allstate contract and 40-plus markets.
If our carrier and coverage guides are helpful, mark Cribb Insurance as a preferred source so more Northwest Arkansas landlords find our local, plain-English explanations.
Tell us about the rental — we'll cover the whole exposure.
Give us the property: the address, roughly what it costs to rebuild, the monthly rent, and whether it's one rental or a portfolio. We'll write the dwelling to real rebuild value, set landlord liability and fair rental income to the exposure, add an umbrella if the portfolio warrants it, and help you require renters insurance from your tenants. Long-term or short-term, one door or ten — we'll run it against our Allstate contract and 40-plus markets and tell you which fits.
Cribb Insurance Group Inc. is an independent insurance agency licensed in Arkansas. We are not National General or Allstate, and this page is authored independently and is not endorsed, sponsored, reviewed, or approved by either. "National General," "Custom360," and "Allstate" are trademarks or service marks of Allstate Insurance Company and its affiliates, used here nominatively to identify products we are appointed to place. "Airbnb" and "VRBO" are trademarks of their respective owners, referenced only to describe short-term-rental use. National General's Arkansas rental dwelling policies are underwritten by member companies of National General, an Allstate company.
This page describes coverage in general terms for informational purposes only. It is not a policy, not an offer of insurance, and not a guarantee of coverage, availability, eligibility, or price. Coverages, limits, fair-rental-income amounts, landlord-furnishings limits, eligibility, and availability vary by property, by use (long-term vs short-term rental), by state, by policy, and over time, are set by the carrier, and are subject to underwriting review and approval and to the terms, conditions, limits, and exclusions of the policy actually issued. Fair rental income responds only to lost rent following a covered loss and does not cover ordinary vacancy or a tenant's failure to pay; short-term rental use may require different coverage. Flood and earthquake are generally excluded from a standard landlord policy and, where available, are separate coverage. Any statement that landlord insurance premiums may be tax-deductible is general information, not tax advice — consult a qualified tax professional.
Statements about Arkansas landlord-tenant law — including that Arkansas has no implied warranty of habitability, the minimum residential quality standards under Act 1052 of 2021, security-deposit limits, and tenant remedies — are general information current as of the last review, are not legal advice, and are subject to change; confirm current law with a qualified Arkansas attorney or the appropriate authority. Financial strength ratings are opinions of an insurer's ability to meet its ongoing insurance obligations, are subject to change, are not recommendations to purchase, hold or terminate any policy, and do not address an insurer's claims-handling practices; current ratings are at ambest.com. The A+ (Superior) rating referenced applies to the members of Allstate Insurance Group as affirmed by AM Best on August 28, 2025; National General Insurance Ltd. (Bermuda) is a separately rated entity carrying a different rating. If anything here conflicts with the issued policy, the policy controls.
Last reviewed July 2026.