Landlord Insurance in California for the Rentals You Own

• Dwelling: the house, condo interior or two- to four-unit building you rent out, including built-in appliances and fixtures.
• Other structures: a detached garage, fence or shed. A separately rented unit on the lot usually needs to be listed on its own.
• Fair rental value: the rent you'd have collected while a covered loss makes the unit unfit to live in.
• Landlord liability: defense and damages if a tenant or visitor is hurt and blames the property's condition. Some dwelling policies include it and some need it added.
• Your personal property: appliances, window coverings or furniture you provide, if you add the coverage.

Your tenant's furniture and electronics are theirs to insure, and a tenant's renters insurance also gives them liability coverage of their own. Earthquake damage takes a separate policy, so read our earthquake insurance page before deciding a rental can go without.

Dwelling fire is the industry name for these forms, and all three usually include fair rental value. The DP-3 is where we usually start for a rental in good shape. A DP-1 can still make sense for an older property or one the standard market won't take, as long as you know what it leaves out.

Say a kitchen fire makes your Saugus rental unlivable and the tenant moves out during repairs. Fair rental value replaces that rent for the time it reasonably takes to fix the damage, up to your limit. If the tenant instead stops paying and you start an eviction, the policy doesn't respond, because nonpayment isn't physical damage.

Set the limit from real numbers: monthly rent times the months a serious rebuild could take. Between permits, contractors and materials, a full rebuild can run long, so a cushion beats the minimum.

Vacant and unoccupied can mean different things in a policy. Unoccupied usually means the furniture is there but nobody is living in it; vacant usually means the home is empty of what people need to live there. Check which word your policy uses, because the clock may run on either.

When rentals usually sit empty

• Turnover between tenants, especially with painting or new floors
• A remodel, or a rebuild after a loss
• The months after a tenant leaves and before a sale closes
• An inherited house waiting on probate

Some carriers offer vacancy or renovation options for these gaps. Ask us about one before the 60 days run out, since it's easier to set up ahead of time.

To an underwriter, a year-long lease and a weekend booking are different risks. Guests change every few days, they don't know the property, and the furniture and linens are yours. A standard dwelling policy may exclude that use outright or allow only occasional stays. The NAIC's home-sharing guidance (opens in a new tab) is worth five minutes before you list.

There are fixes. Some carriers sell a short-term rental endorsement or a policy built for hosts, so ask us whether one we work with can cover your listing, subject to underwriting. Platform host programs exist too, but read their terms before counting on them. Check your city's short-term rental rules as well, since insurance doesn't replace a permit.

The FAIR Plan's dwelling policy (opens in a new tab) is named-peril coverage. Vandalism can be added for an extra charge, and the plan treats seasonal rentals, meaning homes rented for less than a year, as their own category. The California Department of Insurance (CDI) notes the FAIR Plan provides no liability coverage and no coverage for perils like burglary, which is the gap a DIC policy from a private insurer is built to fill.

Wildfire exposure is a common reason rentals end up here, and it often starts with a non-renewal letter. Our guides to home insurance non-renewals in California and the California FAIR Plan explain the options.

The backstop is CIGA, the state fund that pays covered claims when an admitted insurer becomes insolvent. The CDI's commercial insurance guide says plainly that CIGA does not apply to surplus line insurers. Surplus line carriers can take risks admitted carriers won't, like vacant homes or rentals in high wildfire areas, so the trade-off is sometimes worth making.

Landlord insurance is one place you'll see both. Obie, for example, gives California landlords access to admitted and surplus line products. We tell you which kind of company is on each quote and show you the admitted option when there is one.

Your rental doesn't need to be near Valencia. We cover properties anywhere in California by phone, email and e-signature, from rentals in Bakersfield to a duplex down the street. If you also own the home you live in, our California home insurance page covers that side.