Rental property insurance for the risk you cannot supervise.
You own the building and somebody else lives in it. That single fact changes the policy, the exposure, and the things that go wrong. Cribb Insurance Group is appointed with Stillwater and places landlord and dwelling fire coverage for Arkansas rental property owners.
The short version
A landlord policy is not a homeowners policy with a different label. It insures a building you do not live in, income you would lose if it became unrentable, and liability arising from a property occupied by somebody whose conduct you do not control.
Arkansas adds a wrinkle worth knowing before you write a lease: a large share of small landlords in this state are statutorily exempt from the security deposit rules, which means the deposit is a weaker risk-transfer tool here than most owners assume. Your policy and your lease do the work instead.
Different building, different policy, different exposures.
The two policies look similar on a summary page and behave very differently, because the thing they are insuring is not the same thing.
- The structure, without your contentsThe building is covered. Your personal property generally is not, because you do not live there. Appliances, tools and furnishings you supply to the tenant are a separate conversation and are frequently covered under a limited provision rather than a full contents limit.
- Liability shaped for a property you do not occupyA landlord’s liability exposure arises from the condition of the premises and from claims by tenants and their guests. It is a genuinely different exposure from the one a homeowners policy contemplates, and it does not shrink because you visit rarely.
- Loss of rents instead of loss of useA homeowners policy pays your additional living costs if you cannot live in the house. A landlord policy pays the rent you stop collecting if the unit becomes unrentable after a covered loss. Same idea, different money.
- Dwelling fire, and what it meansDwelling fire is the broader family of policies used for property that is not owner-occupied, and the forms within it vary considerably in how many perils they cover. Which one a property sits on is a real decision, not an administrative one.
If you converted a house you used to live in into a rental, this is the moment the policy needs to change. A homeowners policy on a property you no longer occupy is a genuine problem rather than a technicality, and it is one of the most common gaps we find. Tell us when a property changes use.
Loss of rents is the one owners underestimate.
The building gets repaired either way. The question is what happens to the income while that takes place.
What it does
Replaces rental income you stop receiving because a covered loss has made the unit unrentable, for the period reasonably required to repair. It is the coverage that keeps a fire from becoming a financing problem on top of a property problem.
What decides the amount
The rent the property actually produces and how long a realistic repair would take. Both of those move over time, and neither updates itself. A limit set when rent was lower is a limit that no longer matches the building.
What it does not do
It responds to loss of rent caused by a covered loss. It is not a rent guarantee, and it does not answer for a tenant who simply stops paying, or for a unit that is vacant because it has not been leased.
That last distinction is the one that generates the most surprise, so it is worth restating plainly: a tenant who does not pay is a lease problem and a legal problem, not an insurance claim. Insurance answers for physical loss and the consequences of physical loss.
The deposit is doing less work than you think it is.
Most landlords treat the security deposit as their first line of protection against tenant-caused damage. In Arkansas, the statutory picture is unusual, and it changes the calculation.
Ark. Code 18-16-303, and why a lot of Arkansas landlords are outside the deposit rules entirely
Arkansas has a security deposit subchapter, and for landlords it covers it works the way you would expect. Under Ark. Code 18-16-304, a covered landlord may not demand or receive a deposit greater than two months of periodic rent. Under Ark. Code 18-16-305, a covered landlord must return the deposit, with a written itemization of any deductions, within sixty days after the tenancy terminates.
Now the part that catches people. Ark. Code 18-16-303 exempts a large share of Arkansas landlords from that subchapter entirely. The exemption reaches dwelling units owned by an individual where that individual, their spouse and minor children, and any partnerships, corporations or other entities formed for renting dwelling units of which they are officers, owners or majority shareholders, collectively own five or fewer dwelling units. And there is a condition on the condition: the exemption does not apply to units for which management, including rent collection, is performed by a third party for a fee.
So an owner with a handful of doors who self-manages is likely operating outside the deposit statute. Hand those same doors to a property manager who collects rent for a fee, and the subchapter comes back into play. Two owners on the same street, same number of units, can be in genuinely different statutory positions based on who collects the rent.
Here is why this belongs on an insurance page rather than only on a legal one. If you are exempt, the deposit is governed by your lease rather than by the statute — which is a freedom, but it also means the deposit is not a robust risk-transfer mechanism. It is a modest sum of the tenant’s money, and it is the wrong tool for a serious loss. The things that actually transfer rental property risk are the policy and the lease, and of those two, only one of them pays for a fire.
The practical version: know which side of the exemption you are on before you write your next lease, keep the deposit expectations realistic, require your tenants to carry renters coverage so their belongings and their liability are their own problem rather than yours, and make sure your own limits reflect the building rather than what it cost you.
Ark. Code 18-16-303, 18-16-304 and 18-16-305, summarized. The subchapter carries provisions this page does not cover and may be amended. General information, not legal advice — talk to a licensed Arkansas attorney about your lease.
What a landlord policy is not.
The neighbors, not the gaps. Most rental property disappointment starts with one of these.
Not the tenant’s belongings
Nothing the tenant owns is covered by your policy. That is what renters insurance is for, and requiring it in the lease is one of the least expensive risk decisions available to an owner.
Not unpaid rent or eviction costs
A tenant who stops paying is a lease matter. Loss of rents responds to a covered physical loss, not to a collection problem.
Not wear, and not maintenance
Deterioration and the upkeep a building needs sit outside every property policy. Rental property tends to age faster than owner-occupied property, which makes this edge more consequential here.
Not a vacant building, automatically
Extended vacancy changes the risk materially and most property policies address it. If a property is going to sit empty between tenants or during a renovation, tell us before it does rather than after.
Not flood
Rising water is separate, through the National Flood Insurance Program or a private market, with its own waiting period. Lenders on investment property frequently require it where the property sits in a mapped area.
Not short-term rental, by default
Renting a property by the night is a different exposure from a twelve-month lease and is generally not contemplated by a standard landlord policy. If you list a property, say so.
The things that change on a rental.
Rental property changes more often than a house you live in, and almost none of it announces itself to the carrier.
The rent moves
Loss of rents was set against the income the property produced at the time. When rent rises, the limit does not follow on its own.
You add properties
Once there is more than one, there is a program rather than a policy, and the way liability is structured across the portfolio becomes a real decision. Worth reviewing as a whole rather than one address at a time.
The property is renovated
Substantial work changes both the value and the risk, and a property under renovation is a different animal from one that is occupied. Tell us before the work starts.
Occupancy changes
Long-term to short-term, residential to mixed use, a family member moving in. Occupancy is central to how the policy was underwritten.
Your umbrella should keep up
Rental property is one of the more common reasons a household needs personal liability limits above the underlying policies, and the umbrella has to actually list the properties it is meant to sit over.
Reporting a claim
Report promptly and document before anything is repaired. On a rental, get the tenant’s account early, while it is fresh and while they are still there.
If the portfolio has grown past a handful of doors, the answer may not be personal lines at all. That is a business insurance conversation, and we would rather have it early than pretend a personal policy still fits.
Other Stillwater lines.
Stillwater overview
The carrier profile: what Stillwater writes, how the appointment works, and where its financial strength ratings currently sit.
Stillwater homeowners
Settlement basis, the Arkansas roof rule, wind and hail deductibles, and the twelve percent claim penalty.
Stillwater auto
Arkansas minimum liability, uninsured motorist, total loss settlement, and the credit re-rate you can compel.
Stillwater condo and renters
Where the association master policy stops, loss assessment, and what renters coverage actually does.
Stillwater personal umbrella
How an umbrella sits over the limits underneath it, and the underlying-limit requirement nobody mentions.
Stillwater businessowners policy
What a businessowners policy bundles, where the small business line stops, and what it leaves out.
Rental property questions we get in Arkansas.
How is a landlord policy different from a homeowners policy?
What does loss of rents actually pay?
Does my policy cover damage my tenant causes?
What are the Arkansas rules on security deposits?
Should I require my tenants to carry renters insurance?
What happens if my rental sits vacant between tenants?
Cribb Insurance Group publishes carrier explainers, Arkansas coverage guidance and insurance education. Add Cribb Insurance as a preferred source on Google.
Send us the addresses and the leases.
Every property, what each one rents for, whether you self-manage, and whatever you are carrying now. We will tell you whether your loss of rents still matches the income, how the liability is structured across the portfolio, and where Stillwater lands against the rest of our markets.
Bentonville, AR 72713
Stillwater and related marks are marks of their respective owners and are used here nominatively to identify a carrier Cribb Insurance Group is appointed with. Cribb Insurance Group Inc is an independent agency and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or acting on behalf of Stillwater Insurance Group or any Stillwater underwriting company.
Coverage descriptions on this page are general and simplified. Coverage, availability, eligibility, endorsements, internal limits and terms vary by policy and by state, and the actual policy language controls in every case. Nothing here amends any policy or creates coverage.
Statements about Arkansas landlord and tenant law are general information for insurance planning purposes and are not legal advice. Lease drafting, deposit handling, notice requirements and eviction are legal matters. Consult a licensed Arkansas attorney.
No premium figures, rate estimates, savings figures, suggested coverage limits or suggested deductibles are published on this page. Pricing and limit structure are developed from the individual account. Discounts are named without amounts; availability and application depend on the account, the state and the carrier’s filings.
Financial strength and financial stability ratings are assigned by independent rating agencies using their own separate scales, are opinions about a company’s ability to meet its insurance obligations rather than about claims handling or service, are subject to change, and are not recommendations to purchase any policy. The current rating position for this carrier is stated on the Stillwater carrier overview page and at ambest.com and demotech.com.
Arkansas statutory and Arkansas Insurance Department references are general information and not legal advice. Statutes and bulletins are summarized, carry provisions and exceptions this page does not cover, are subject to judicial interpretation, and may be amended. How any of this applies to a particular policy, property or claim depends on facts this page cannot know. Consult a licensed Arkansas attorney before relying on any of it in a dispute.
Last reviewed August 2026.