Real protection for your rental property,
not a homeowners policy in disguise.

Landlord insurance — technically called a dwelling fire policy (DP-1, DP-2, or DP-3) — is designed for homes you rent to tenants instead of living in yourself.

The main differences from homeowners insurance: it covers the structure and landlord-owned personal property but NOT the tenant's belongings; it includes fair rental value coverage to replace lost rent if the property becomes uninhabitable; and the liability protection covers your landlord-related exposure rather than personal liability.

Most homeowners policies are voided the moment a carrier discovers the home is being rented — so converting to a proper landlord policy when a home becomes a rental is mandatory, not optional.

Landlord insurance for a typical single-family rental property in Arkansas runs $900 to $2,200 per year, or roughly 15 to 25 percent more than a comparable homeowners policy on the same property.

Duplexes typically run $2,000 to $3,800, and small multi-unit (3 to 4 units) properties run $3,200 to $5,500. Premiums depend on property value, year built, roof age, location, claims history, deductible, occupancy type (long-term vs short-term), and the specific dwelling fire form chosen.

Landlord insurance is not required by Arkansas state law, but it is almost always required by any mortgage lender holding a loan on the rental property.

Even on a paid-off rental, going without coverage is rarely worth the risk — a single major loss (fire, tornado, tenant liability lawsuit) can wipe out years of rental income. Most landlord-owner LLC and partnership agreements also require it, and many cities require proof of insurance for short-term rental permits.

Dwelling fire policies come in three forms, from narrowest to broadest:

DP-1 (Basic Form) — the cheapest. Covers a short list of named perils: fire, lightning, internal explosion.
DP-2 (Broad Form) — covers a longer named-perils list including wind, hail, theft, freezing pipes, and smoke.
DP-3 (Special Form) — the broadest. Covers all causes of loss except those specifically excluded — equivalent to the open-perils coverage on a standard homeowners policy.

For most Arkansas rental properties, DP-3 is the right choice. DP-1 is sometimes used for older or lower-value properties where DP-3 isn't available.

A standard DP-3 landlord policy covers six things:

(1) Dwelling — the structure of the rental against covered perils.
(2) Other structures — detached garages, fences, sheds.
(3) Personal property — landlord-owned items only.
(4) Fair rental value — lost rent during repairs.
(5) Personal liability — tenant/guest injuries on the property.
(6) Medical payments — small guest medical bills.

It does NOT cover the tenant's personal belongings — that's renters insurance, which the tenant should carry.

Partially. Landlord insurance covers tenant-caused damage that meets two conditions: it's accidental, and it's caused by a covered peril (fire, vandalism, water damage from a burst pipe, etc.).

Intentional damage and normal wear and tear are excluded. For intentional damage — holes punched in walls, deliberately broken appliances, pet destruction — landlords rely on the security deposit, small claims court, and an optional malicious damage by tenant endorsement that some carriers offer for an additional premium.

Fair rental value (also called loss of rents) coverage pays the rental income you would have received if a covered loss makes the property uninhabitable while it's being repaired.

Usually set at 10 to 25 percent of the dwelling coverage limit. If your single-family rental burns down and takes six months to rebuild, this coverage pays the $1,500/month rent for those six months — $9,000 you'd otherwise be out.

It's included in most landlord policies by default but worth verifying the limit is high enough for your actual rent and your area's typical rebuild timeline.

This is one of the most common — and expensive — coverage gaps for landlords.

Most standard landlord policies suspend or limit coverage after a property has been vacant for 30, 60, or 90 days. Vacancy increases the risk of vandalism, undetected water leaks, fire, and squatters.

If your rental is vacant beyond the policy threshold, you need either a vacancy permit endorsement (extends standard coverage with conditions) or a separate vacant dwelling policy. Always notify your agent immediately when a property goes vacant for any extended period.

Standard landlord (DP-3) policies typically do NOT cover short-term rentals — they're designed for tenants with annual leases. Renting to short-term guests is usually treated as a business use that needs either:

A short-term rental endorsement on your existing policy · A true short-term rental policy from a specialty carrier (like Proper, Steadily, or CBIZ) · A small commercial policy

The Airbnb Host Protection and VRBO host coverage built into those platforms are NOT a substitute for proper insurance — they're secondary, have many exclusions, and disappear if you violate any platform rule.

Yes — almost always. Requiring tenants to carry renters insurance (and listing you as an interested party so you're notified if it lapses) protects their belongings, reduces the likelihood you get sued after a guest injury at the property, and creates a separate source of liability coverage if a tenant causes accidental damage to the building.

Most renters policies cost the tenant $12 to $25 per month — minimal cost for substantial mutual protection. Many Arkansas landlord-tenant attorneys recommend a renters insurance clause in every lease.

Often, yes — many A-rated carriers that write your personal homeowners and auto will also write your rental properties as additional dwellings on a related policy or as standalone DP-3 policies through the same carrier, with multi-policy discounts of 5 to 15 percent.

Cribb Insurance Group can quote your home, auto, and rental portfolio with the same carrier or with the best-fit carrier for each — whichever produces the lower total cost.

Many investors do this for liability protection, but it has insurance implications.

When a property is titled to an LLC, the landlord policy needs to list the LLC as the named insured (not you personally), and the LLC structure should be properly maintained for the liability shield to hold up. Some carriers won't write personal-lines DP-3 policies for LLC-owned properties and require a commercial dwelling policy instead.

Talk to both your insurance agent and your CPA or attorney before transferring title — there are mortgage, insurance, and tax implications that need to be coordinated.

Yes. Landlord insurance premiums are a deductible operating expense on Schedule E of your federal tax return (and the corresponding Arkansas state return), along with mortgage interest, property taxes, repairs, depreciation, and management fees.

This is one of the reasons proper landlord insurance is rarely the budget burden investors expect — between the deduction and the protection it provides, it's typically the highest ROI expense on a rental property's P&L. Always confirm specific deductibility with a CPA familiar with rental property taxation.

If you live in the home and rent out a single room, you typically stay on your homeowners policy — but you need to tell your carrier. Most homeowners policies allow up to two boarders without changing the policy structure, often with a small premium increase.

Anything beyond that (renting multiple rooms, short-term rental, separate living units) is usually treated as a business use and may require an endorsement or a different policy entirely. Always disclose any rental activity to your agent — undisclosed rental use is the #1 reason landlord-related claims get denied.

Most landlord policies offer liability limits of $100,000 to $500,000. For Arkansas landlords with one or two properties, $300,000 to $500,000 of underlying liability plus a $1 million personal umbrella is a common and affordable setup.

Investors with three or more properties, or with higher-value rentals, typically benefit from a $2 million to $5 million umbrella that sits over all properties.

Liability claims against landlords — tenant injuries, guest injuries, dog bites, slip-and-falls — are the highest-cost and least-predictable risk in the rental business.