The day a tenant moves in, your policy stops fitting.
A homeowners policy is written on the understanding that you live there. Rent the house out and that's no longer true — and a carrier that finds out at claim time can deny it or unwind the policy back to the day the occupancy changed. It happens most often to people who never meant to be landlords. Here's the right instrument, how DP-1 through DP-3 differ, what loss of rents does, and the two gaps that catch even careful owners. We shop it across 40+ carriers.
The short answer
A rental needs a dwelling fire policy — usually a DP-3 — not a homeowners policy. It covers the structure, the property you provide, your liability as owner, and loss of rents while the place is uninhabitable. What it does not cover is anything your tenant owns, which is why requiring renters insurance in the lease is the most effective clause you can add to it. Two clauses catch careful owners: the vacancy provision, which suspends key coverages once a property sits empty past a stated period, and the fact that short-term rental is a different exposure most dwelling policies exclude.
Nobody sets out to insure a rental as a home. It just happens.
A homeowners policy assumes you live there. Change that without telling the carrier and the policy is resting on a fact that is no longer true — which is a very different thing from having a gap in coverage.
The accidental landlord is the most common version of this.
Almost nobody buys a rental and forgets to insure it properly. What happens instead is that somebody buys a bigger house and keeps the first one, or takes a job elsewhere and rents rather than sells, or inherits a property and puts a tenant in it while they decide. The house was already insured, the policy renews on its own, and nothing about that renewal notice asks who is living there.
Then there's a fire, or a tenant is hurt on the stairs, and the adjuster asks a routine question about occupancy. At that point the carrier's options include denying the claim and rescinding the policy back to the date the occupancy changed, refunding premium and walking away. That is a substantially worse outcome than being underinsured. The call to change it costs nothing and takes ten minutes, and the resulting policy is frequently cheaper than the homeowners policy it replaces, because a dwelling fire form covers less — it isn't insuring your belongings or your family's liability.
DP-1, DP-2, DP-3 — and why it matters at claim time.
All three are dwelling fire policies. They differ in what's covered and, just as importantly, in how a loss gets paid.
A short list of covered perils and, commonly, settlement at actual cash value — depreciation comes out of the payment. It exists for properties that can't qualify for more, including buildings in rough condition or ones that will sit vacant. A real option, not a bad one, but know if it's what you have.
A wider list of covered perils and generally replacement cost settlement. The middle option, and sometimes the best available answer on an older property that a DP-3 carrier won't take.
Covers the structure on an open-perils basis — anything not specifically excluded — and generally settles at replacement cost. This is where most rental owners should be, and it's the form to ask for by name.
If there's a mortgage, check the carrier's rating — not just the price.
This one is specific to financed property and it's the most useful thing on this page. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and HUD accept property insurance from carriers rated A− or better by AM Best. A policy written on paper below that floor can be rejected by a servicer, and the consequence is force-placed coverage that costs far more and protects the lender rather than you. Ratings move — a carrier that cleared the floor when you bound can be downgraded below it at any point, and nobody sends you a letter about it. So the question on a financed rental isn't only what the premium is. It's whose paper is the policy actually written on, and where is that company rated today. We check it, and we'll tell you when a cheaper quote sits on paper your lender may not take.
Six parts, and one of them replaces your income.
Which of these are included, optional or limited varies by carrier and by form — the declarations page is the answer, not this list.
Dwelling
The structure itself, set at replacement cost. The same rebuild-cost question as a homeowners policy, and the same trap: what you paid for the property has nothing to do with what it costs to rebuild.
Other structures
Detached garage, storage building, fencing, driveway structures. Frequently set as a small percentage of the dwelling limit and frequently too low on a property with a real outbuilding.
Landlord's property
Appliances, window coverings, maintenance equipment and any furnishings you provide. Not the tenant's belongings — yours. Easy to underestimate on a furnished or appliance-equipped rental.
Loss of rents
Replaces the rental income while a covered loss makes the property unlivable. Also called fair rental value. Set it against your actual rent and a realistic repair timeline — not a hopeful one, because after a regional storm every contractor is booked.
Premises liability
Injuries at the property that you're legally responsible for — a fall on a step, a failure to repair, a condition you knew about. Owning a rental means being a defendant in a way that owning a home doesn't.
Ordinance or law
The extra cost of bringing an older rental up to current code during a covered rebuild. Rentals skew older than owner-occupied homes, which makes this endorsement matter more here than it does on a homeowners policy.
Three gaps that catch owners who did everything else right.
The property sitting empty
Most dwelling policies restrict or suspend key coverages once a property has been vacant beyond a stated period — commonly around thirty to sixty days. Vandalism, glass, water damage and theft are usually first to go, which is precisely what happens to an empty house. A slow turnover or a renovation runs past it easily.
Your tenant's belongings
Not yours to insure and not on your policy. If a fire destroys everything the tenant owns, your policy does nothing for them — and a tenant with no coverage of their own is a tenant looking for someone to hold responsible.
Short-term and nightly rental
A landlord policy assumes a tenant under a lease. Nightly rental is closer to a hospitality operation — higher turnover, guests rather than tenants — and many dwelling policies exclude it outright. Coverage exists, but it has to be written for it.
Require renters insurance in the lease. It's the cheapest thing you'll ever do.
One clause in the lease closes the largest remaining hole, and it costs you nothing. Require it, set a minimum liability limit, and require that you be listed so you're notified if it lapses — that last part is the piece most landlords skip, and it's what turns a requirement into something that's actually true twelve months later. The benefit runs both ways. The tenant's own loss gets handled without them looking to you for it, and if they cause damage to the building, their liability coverage responds before yours does, which keeps the claim off your loss history. A tenant policy costs very little, and most tenants have simply never been asked.
Four different rental markets in one corridor.
Rental property here isn't one thing, and the coverage question changes with each version of it. Fayetteville has a large student rental market with its own rhythm — high turnover, a summer gap that runs straight at the vacancy clause, and multiple unrelated tenants on one lease, which changes how a renters requirement has to be written. Bentonville and Rogers have produced a wave of accidental landlords, people who bought early, moved up, and kept the first house. Springdale and the corridor generally carry the long-term workforce rentals. And running across all of it is short-term rental, fed by trail tourism and a steady stream of supplier-community visitors, which is the one people most often insure incorrectly.
The common thread is that a policy written for one of those doesn't fit the others, and properties move between categories more than owners expect. A long-term rental that goes nightly for a busy few months, or a student house that empties every May, has changed in a way the declarations page doesn't know about.
Where we earn it.
The quiet mistakes on rental property are a homeowners policy still in force on a house somebody moved out of, loss of rents set at a number that doesn't match the rent or a realistic repair timeline, a vacancy clause nobody read before the property emptied, no renters requirement in the lease, and on a financed property, a carrier rated below the A− floor a servicer will accept. We write the occupancy down accurately so it can't be argued later, size loss of rents against the actual lease, check the vacancy provision and flag it before a turnover rather than after, look at the carrier's rating alongside the premium, and schedule multiple properties together with an umbrella above them when that's the better structure. We don't adjust your claim and can't overrule an adjuster — but we build the policy to respond, and we compare it across our 40+ carrier markets rather than one company's appetite.
What our Arkansas landlord clients actually pay.
Annual premiums drawn from Cribb Insurance Group's own Arkansas rental property book. The second column shows pricing available on a specialty program for properties that meet the carrier's eligibility guidelines — many don't, so read it as a possibility rather than a starting point.
| Property type | Cribb agency average | If eligible for the specialty program | What moves it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-family rental, around $250,000 | $675 – $1,650 / yr | $450 – $1,100 / yr | Runs somewhat above a homeowners policy on the same house, mostly for the liability and loss of rents. |
| Single-family rental, around $400,000 | $1,125 – $2,100 / yr | $750 – $1,400 / yr | The common band for newer NWA construction now being rented rather than sold. |
| Duplex | $1,500 – $2,850 / yr | $1,000 – $1,900 / yr | Two tenancies on one policy. Liability limits matter more here than the property value suggests. |
| Triplex or fourplex | $2,100 – $4,125 / yr | $1,400 – $2,750 / yr | Often where carriers draw the line between a dwelling policy and a commercial one. |
| Short-term / nightly rental | $1,650 – $3,375 / yr | $1,100 – $2,250 / yr | A specialty placement rather than a dwelling policy, and priced as a different exposure. |
| Section 8 single-family | $1,200 – $2,100 / yr | $800 – $1,400 / yr | Widely written, but carrier selection moves the number more than usual. |
| Vacant dwelling, 3 to 12 months | $1,350 – $3,000 / yr | $900 – $2,000 / yr | Higher rate and narrower coverage. Worth pricing before the property empties, not after. |
| Portfolio, several properties | Structured, not listed | Structured, not listed | Usually better as a scheduled or master structure with one umbrella above it than as separate policies. |
Figures reflect Cribb Insurance Group client policies in Arkansas. They are historical, they describe other owners' properties, and they are not a quote, an estimate for you, or a promise of availability or price. Specialty program pricing applies only where a property meets the carrier's eligibility guidelines. See the full disclosure at the foot of this page.
The second column has conditions attached, and plenty of properties don't meet them.
The specialty column isn't a discount we apply on request — it's pricing available under specific carrier contracts, and the property has to qualify. Eligibility commonly turns on roof age and condition, claims history, the overall condition of the property, occupancy type, and how long it's been continuously insured. An older roof or a recent claim will usually take a property out of it. We'll tell you within a quote whether yours qualifies, and if it doesn't, the first column is the honest number to plan against. Assume the first column, and treat the second as upside.
Owners put this conversation off expecting a penalty, and a dwelling fire policy frequently costs less than the homeowners policy on the same house — it covers less, because it isn't insuring your belongings or your family's personal liability. Where yours lands turns on the replacement cost and construction, the age and condition of the roof and major systems, the form, long-term versus short-term occupancy, the number of units, your deductibles and liability limits, loss of rents, protection class, whether the property is ever vacant, and claims history. This isn't a quote or a guarantee. Send the address and any current declarations page and we'll build the real figure across our markets.
What usually sits next to it.
Landlord insurance questions.
Can I keep my homeowners policy if I rent the house out?
No, and this is the most expensive mistake in this whole line. A homeowners policy is written on the understanding that you live there. The moment the property becomes a rental, the basis the policy was issued on is no longer true, and a carrier that discovers the change at claim time can deny the claim or rescind the policy back to the date the occupancy changed.
It happens most often to accidental landlords, people who bought a second home or moved and kept the first house rather than selling it, and who simply never thought to call. The correct instrument is a dwelling fire policy, usually a DP-3, written for a property occupied by someone other than the owner. Telling us costs nothing. Not telling us can cost the house.
What is the difference between DP-1, DP-2 and DP-3?
They are three versions of the dwelling fire form and they differ in how much they cover and how a loss is paid. DP-1 is the most basic, covering a short named list of perils and generally settling losses at actual cash value, which means depreciation comes out of the payment. DP-2 covers a longer named list and usually settles at replacement cost. DP-3 is the broadest, covering the structure on an open perils basis, meaning anything not specifically excluded, and generally settling at replacement cost.
DP-3 is what most rental owners should be on. DP-1 exists for properties that cannot qualify for anything else, such as a building in poor condition or one that will sit vacant, and it is a real option rather than a bad one, but you should know which of the three you have and why.
Does my landlord policy cover my tenant's belongings?
No, and it was never meant to. Your policy covers the building, the other structures on the lot, and property you provide such as appliances, window coverings and any furnishings you supply. Everything the tenant owns is the tenant's responsibility, and if a fire destroys their belongings your policy does nothing for them.
The practical answer is to require renters insurance in the lease, set a minimum liability limit, and require that you be listed so you are notified if the policy lapses. It costs the tenant very little, it means their loss is handled without them looking to you for it, and their liability coverage responds first if they cause damage to the building. It is the least expensive risk-management step available to a landlord and most leases still do not include it.
What happens if the property sits vacant between tenants?
This is the gap that catches careful owners. Most dwelling policies restrict or suspend significant coverages once a property has been vacant beyond a stated period, commonly around thirty to sixty days depending on the form. Vandalism, glass breakage, water damage and theft are typically the first to go, which is unfortunate because they are exactly what happens to an empty house.
A turnover between tenants can run past that window without anyone noticing, and a renovation can run well past it. The fix is straightforward if you plan ahead. Tell us before the property goes empty and we can look at a vacancy permit endorsement or move it to a form written for vacant property. Discovering the clause after the copper is gone is the expensive version.
Does landlord insurance cover Airbnb or short-term rentals?
Generally not. A landlord policy assumes a tenant under a lease, and short-term rental is a different exposure with much higher turnover, guests rather than tenants, and something closer to a hospitality operation than a tenancy. Many dwelling policies exclude it outright, and a claim arising during a paid stay can be denied on a policy that was never told about it.
Coverage does exist, either through a policy written specifically for short-term rental or through a commercial placement, depending on how often the property is rented and whether it is ever owner-occupied. What matters is telling us how the property is actually used. Occasional nightly rental of a property you also live in is a different question from a dedicated short-term rental, and both are different from a twelve-month lease.
How do I get a landlord insurance quote in Northwest Arkansas?
Start a personal quote online or call (479) 286-1066, and send the declarations page for any coverage already in force. Useful details are the address, the year built, the square footage, the construction type, the age of the roof and the major systems, whether the property is a single family home, a duplex or a small multi-unit, the monthly rent, whether it is leased long term or rented short term, and whether there is a mortgage.
Tell us if it is currently vacant or about to be, and tell us about pools, trampolines, dogs kept by tenants and any detached structures. If you own more than one rental, say so at the start, because scheduling several properties together and putting an umbrella above them usually works better than quoting each one separately.
If our coverage explainers are useful, mark Cribb Insurance as a preferred source so more Northwest Arkansas property owners can find our local, plain-English guides.
Tell us how the property is actually occupied.
Send the address and any current declarations page, and tell us the truth about the property — leased, nightly, between tenants, mid-renovation, or a house you moved out of and never got around to mentioning. We'll get it onto the right form, size loss of rents against your real rent, check the vacancy clause and the carrier's rating, and compare it across our markets. If you own several, we'll look at scheduling them together with an umbrella on top.
Cribb Insurance Group Inc. is an independent insurance agency licensed in Arkansas. This page describes landlord, rental property and dwelling fire insurance in general, industry-standard 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.
About the premium figures on this page. The Cribb agency average column is drawn from Cribb Insurance Group's own book of Arkansas rental property clients. Those figures are historical and descriptive: they report what a set of other owners paid for a stated property type, over a past period, under the carriers and rating rules in effect at that time. They are not an estimate of your premium, not a quote, not an offer, and not a representation that any particular price is available to you or to anyone. The specialty program column reflects pricing available under specific carrier contracts and applies only to properties that satisfy the carrier's eligibility guidelines, which commonly include roof age and condition, claims history, property condition, occupancy type and continuous prior coverage. Many properties do not qualify, eligibility is determined solely by the carrier at underwriting and not by this agency, and no property should be assumed eligible before a quote. Availability of any program may change or be withdrawn. Individual premiums are determined solely at quote and by the policy actually issued, and are affected by replacement cost, construction, roof and system age, occupancy, number of units, protection class, deductibles, limits, coverage history and claims, carrier underwriting and filed rates. Rates change over time and past figures are not a prediction of future pricing. No comparison to any other agency, carrier or market average is stated or implied.
Dwelling, other structures, landlord's personal property, loss of rents or fair rental value, premises liability, medical payments and ordinance or law coverages, along with limits, deductibles, settlement basis, vacancy provisions, covered causes of loss, and exclusions, are set by the carrier, vary by state and by policy and over time, are subject to the carrier's underwriting approval and eligibility, and apply only as written in the policy actually issued to you. Descriptions of DP-1, DP-2 and DP-3 are general descriptions of dwelling fire forms; the specific perils covered, the settlement basis and the endorsements available differ by carrier, and your own policy language controls. Vacancy periods described are typical rather than universal and are set by your policy. Short-term or nightly rental, business use of the property, tenant-owned property, and intentional acts are commonly excluded or require different coverage.
Statements about rating requirements reflect published eligibility standards used by mortgage investors and government housing programs and are provided as general background. Whether a particular policy satisfies your lender or loan servicer is determined by that lender or servicer, not by this agency, and requirements change. AM Best ratings are the opinions of AM Best, are subject to change without notice, and are not a guarantee of a carrier's ability to pay claims. Descriptions of what a homeowners policy does or does not do when a property becomes a rental are general; your own policy language and the carrier's underwriting decision control. Nothing here is legal advice about your lease, your tenants, or your obligations as a property owner; consult your own attorney. Any cost or coverage descriptions are general and illustrative, not a quote, and not a guarantee; your premium and coverage are determined at quote and by the policy issued.
Last reviewed July 2026.