Your homeowners policy quietly quits the day a tenant moves in.
The house didn't change — the risk did. A rental needs its own form: a Nationwide Dwelling Fire policy for most single-family rentals, or a small-commercial form once the building gets bigger. We place it where it actually fits, and we cover the money that matters — the building, the liability, and the rent. From an independent agency that places Nationwide every day.
The short answer
A home you live in is insured with a homeowners policy. A home someone rents from you is a different risk — different occupant, different liability, different money on the line — and it needs a landlord policy. Run a rental on a standard homeowners policy and a claim can be denied for exactly that reason. Through Nationwide, that coverage comes in two shapes and Cribb can place either one: a personal Dwelling Fire policy (the DP-1 through DP-3 tiers) for single-family and small rentals, or a small-commercial habitational form for larger buildings. Which one is right isn't a guess — it's a conversation, and we'll tell you honestly where your property lands.
A rented house isn't a homeowners risk.
This is the landlord surprise: people assume the house they moved out of is "still on the homeowners policy," and in a narrow sense it might be — right up until a tenant is living in it and something goes wrong.
only what a homeowners policy insures
A homeowners policy is priced and written for a home you live in. Once tenants move in, the occupancy the carrier agreed to insure no longer matches reality — and a claim can be denied on exactly that basis.
The day the lease starts, the coverage assumption breaks.
Renting the place out changes who's inside, how it's used, and who can get hurt there. That's why insurers move a rental onto a landlord form built for it — one that covers the structure, the income you'd lose if it can't be rented, and your liability as the owner if a tenant or visitor is injured.
Try to keep a rental on a homeowners policy to save a few dollars and you're carrying the biggest risks — the building and a liability lawsuit — with a policy that may not respond at all. If you own it and someone else lives in it, assume it needs a landlord policy until proven otherwise.
Dwelling Fire or small-commercial? Both live at Nationwide.
Most carriers make you pick a lane and squeeze your property into it. Nationwide writes both the personal dwelling form and small-commercial habitational — so the question stops being "what will they take?" and becomes "what actually fits your building?"
A single rental house rarely belongs on a commercial form. A 12-unit building rarely belongs on a personal one. The trick is knowing where the line is — and that's underwriting, not marketing.
How we think about placing it.
Single-family homes, duplexes, and small residential rentals usually sit best on a personal Dwelling Fire policy — it's built for exactly this: an owner insuring a structure that someone else lives in.
Larger apartment buildings, multi-unit portfolios, and mixed-use property generally move to a small-commercial habitational form, where the liability and business exposure are priced properly.
The exact crossover depends on the risk and current underwriting, so instead of publishing a unit count that won't hold, we'll look at your specific property and tell you which form Nationwide will place it on.
DP-1, DP-2, DP-3 — the tier decides how a claim gets paid.
For the rentals that sit on a personal Dwelling Fire policy, there are three common tiers. They read like fine print, but the difference shows up as real dollars the day a storm hits the roof. In Northwest Arkansas we usually steer owners toward the top tier for one reason: hail.
| What it does | DP-1 (Basic) | DP-2 (Broad) | DP-3 (Special) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perils covered on the dwelling | Short named-peril list | Broader named-peril list | Open peril (all but exclusions) |
| How the structure is settled | Often actual cash value | ACV or RCV | Replacement cost available |
| Roof settlement in hail country | Depreciated (ACV) hurts most | Depends on the schedule | Best chance at full RCV |
| Fair rental value / loss of rents | Limited / add-on | Typically included | Typically included |
| Best fit for | Bare-bones, older secondary structures | Middle-ground budgets | Most NWA rental owners |
This is the same fight we flag on the Home page.
A depreciated (ACV) roof settlement can leave you paying thousands out of pocket after an Arkansas hailstorm. On a rental you're carrying that gap and the lost rent while it's repaired. In hail country, the tier you choose is the roof settlement you get — which is why we usually put NWA rentals on DP-3 with replacement cost.
The building, the income, and you.
The dwelling
The rental building itself — walls, roof, and built-in systems — against fire, wind, hail, and other covered losses.
Other structures
Detached garages, sheds, and fences — plus the equipment you keep on-site to maintain the property.
Fair rental value / loss of rents
If a covered loss makes the unit unlivable, this pays the rent you'd have collected during repairs — so the mortgage isn't sitting on zero income.
Premises liability
If a tenant or visitor is injured on the property and you're held responsible, this covers defense costs and settlements up to your limit.
Ordinance or law
A rental rebuilt after a loss may have to meet current code. This helps cover the added cost of bringing the structure up to today's rules.
Vandalism & malicious mischief
Damage from break-ins or a tenant gone wrong — an exposure a homeowners policy handles very differently.
Optional building blocks worth a conversation.
Equipment breakdown (HVAC, water heaters, systems), water backup, and higher ordinance or law limits all earn their keep on the older housing stock common across Northwest Arkansas. We size them to your property, not a template.
The honest list of what this doesn't do.
Knowing the edges is how you avoid a nasty surprise at claim time. None of these are secrets — they're just the parts people assume are included and aren't.
Your tenant's belongings
Their furniture and electronics are on their renters policy. Require it in the lease — and ask to be named as additional interest so you're told if it lapses.
Flood
No landlord policy includes flood. If the address carries flood exposure, it's written on its own — we check the zone and tell you straight.
Wear & tear / maintenance
Insurance pays for sudden accidental loss — not aging roofs, deferred upkeep, or the slow leak you knew about. Maintenance stays on you.
Airbnb and VRBO change the risk.
Standard landlord and dwelling forms commonly exclude short-term or transient rental — which can mean a denied claim if you're doing nightly stays on a long-term form. Tell us up front and we'll place it correctly, with an endorsement or a different product. Airbnb and VRBO are trademarks of their respective owners.
A landlord-friendly state — which is exactly why the insurance matters.
Arkansas has long stood alone as the only state without a full common-law implied warranty of habitability. Act 1052 of 2021 added minimum "implied residential quality standards" for leases starting after November 1, 2021 — a functioning roof, running and potable water, available electricity, code-compliant plumbing, and HVAC kept in working order — but a tenant's remedies under it are limited.
Here's the part that matters for coverage: a lenient legal climate does nothing to protect your money when the building burns, the roof caves under hail, or someone is hurt on the property and hires a lawyer. Premises liability doesn't wait on a habitability statute. The law can be on your side and you can still lose the asset — that's the gap the policy fills.
The local reality.
Northwest Arkansas rentals earn well because demand is real — but they sit in the same hail-and-wind corridor as every other roof in Benton and Washington counties. Insure the structure at replacement cost and size loss-of-rents to a realistic repair timeline, because contractors here get busy fast after a storm.
This is general information about Arkansas law as of this page's last review, not legal advice. Statutes change and courts are still interpreting Act 1052 — confirm your obligations with a licensed Arkansas attorney.
The pieces we'll talk through.
Priced on the property, not a webpage.
We don't publish rates — anyone who quotes a number without seeing the property is guessing. Landlord coverage also tends to run somewhat higher than an owner-occupied homeowners policy, because tenant turnover and vacancy add risk. This isn't a quote or a guarantee. What actually moves the premium:
Backed by an A (Excellent) carrier.
On November 7, 2025, AM Best affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent), stable outlook, for the members of the Nationwide Property and Casualty Group — the companies behind this coverage in Arkansas.
Where Nationwide fits landlords well
- Writes both the personal Dwelling Fire form and small-commercial habitational, so your property is placed by fit instead of forced into one lane.
- A policyholder-owned mutual (founded 1926) with deep property roots and independent-agency-only personal lines — you get an agent, not an 800 number.
- Room to build the policy up — replacement cost, ordinance or law, equipment breakdown — for the older housing stock common across NWA.
What we'll tell you honestly
- We'll tell you when Nationwide isn't the answer. It's one of 40+ carriers we represent — if another market fits your rental better, we'll say so.
- We don't adjust your claim. The Nationwide adjuster decides the payment; we can't overrule them, but we can push and advocate for you.
- The A+ (Superior) rating you may see quoted is Nationwide's life/annuity arm — a different company from the P&C group that insures your rental. We won't blur the two.
Own more than one thing? Line them up.
It grows with you.
Landlords rarely stay single-property. When your rental turns into a portfolio — or a building big enough for a Business Owners Policy and Commercial Umbrella — we move you onto the right commercial forms without starting over. Ask us to look at the whole picture, including an umbrella over your personal and rental liability.
Nationwide landlord questions.
Does my homeowners policy cover a house I rent out?
Generally no. A homeowners (HO) policy is built for a home you live in, and the day it becomes a rental most homeowners policies stop responding the way you'd expect — a claim can be denied on that basis alone.
A rental needs a landlord form: a personal Dwelling Fire policy (DP-1 through DP-3) for most single-family and small rentals, or a small-commercial habitational form for larger buildings. We help you figure out which one you actually need.
What's the difference between DP-1, DP-2, and DP-3?
They're tiers of a Dwelling Fire policy. DP-1 is the most basic — a short list of named perils, often settled at actual cash value (depreciated). DP-3 is the broadest common tier: it covers the dwelling on an open-peril basis and can settle the structure at replacement cost. DP-2 sits in the middle.
For most Northwest Arkansas rentals we lean toward DP-3, so a hail-battered roof isn't paid out at a depreciated value.
Does landlord insurance cover my tenant's belongings?
No. Your landlord policy covers your building, your structures, and your liability as owner — not the tenant's furniture, electronics, or clothes. That's what their own renters insurance is for.
We recommend requiring renters insurance in the lease and asking to be named as an additional interest so you're notified if it lapses.
What happens to my rent if the property is damaged and can't be rented?
That's Fair Rental Value / Loss of Rents coverage. If a covered loss makes the unit uninhabitable, it reimburses the rent you would have collected while it's repaired — so the mortgage isn't sitting on top of zero income.
Size this limit to your actual monthly rent and a realistic repair timeline for our area, not a round number.
Is short-term rental (Airbnb / VRBO) covered?
Usually not on a standard landlord or dwelling form — short-term and transient rental is commonly excluded and often needs a specific endorsement or a different product. If you're doing nightly or weekly stays, tell us up front.
Placing that risk on the wrong form is exactly the kind of gap that surfaces at claim time. Airbnb and VRBO are trademarks of their respective owners.
Do I still need flood insurance on a rental?
Yes, if flood is a real exposure — a landlord policy does not include flood. It's written separately, through the NFIP or a private flood market. We check the flood zone for the address and tell you honestly whether you need it.
Does Arkansas law require me to keep the rental habitable?
Arkansas is unusual — it's long been the only state without a full common-law implied warranty of habitability. Act 1052 of 2021 added minimum "implied residential quality standards" for leases starting after November 1, 2021 (functioning roof, running and potable water, available electricity, code-compliant plumbing, HVAC), but tenant remedies are limited.
The insurance point stands regardless: a landlord-friendly law does nothing to protect you from the building burning down or a liability lawsuit. This is general information, not legal advice — talk to an Arkansas attorney about your specific obligations.
If our insurance guides and coverage comparisons are helpful, mark Cribb Insurance as a preferred source so more Northwest Arkansas property owners find our local explanations.
Let's put your rental on the right form.
Send us the address and a few details. We'll tell you whether it's a Dwelling Fire or a small-commercial fit, run it through Nationwide and our other markets, and show you the honest comparison — including where the roof settlement and loss-of-rents limits actually land. If a different carrier fits better, we'll say so.
Cribb Insurance Group Inc. is an independent insurance agency licensed in Arkansas. We are not Nationwide, and this page is not endorsed, sponsored, reviewed, or approved by Nationwide. "Nationwide," the Nationwide N and Eagle, and "Nationwide is on your side" are service marks of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and its affiliates, used here nominatively to identify products we are appointed to place. Nationwide's Arkansas landlord and dwelling-fire policies are issued by Nationwide-affiliated underwriting companies.
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. Coverage tiers, forms, perils, valuation, settlement terms, eligibility, program terms and availability — including whether a rental is placed on a personal Dwelling Fire form or a small-commercial form — vary by state, by property, and over time, are set by the carrier, and are subject to underwriting review, guidelines, and approval and to the terms, conditions, limits, and exclusions of the policy actually issued. DP-1, DP-2, and DP-3 references describe general dwelling-fire structure and are not specific Nationwide form representations. If anything on this page conflicts with the issued policy, the policy controls.
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 (Excellent) rating referenced applies to the members of the Nationwide Property and Casualty Group; a separate Nationwide life/annuity company carries its own rating. "Airbnb," "VRBO," and other third-party marks are the property of their respective owners. Statements about Arkansas landlord-tenant law, including Act 1052 of 2021, are general information, not legal advice, and requirements change; consult a licensed Arkansas attorney about your obligations as a landlord.
Last reviewed July 2026.