Louisiana Landlord Insurance
Get a complete analysis of Louisiana landlord insurance costs, coverages & companies.
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Christine Lacagnina has written thousands of insurance-based articles for TrustedChoice.com by authoring consumable, understandable content.
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Jeff Green has held a variety of sales and management roles at life insurance companies, Wall street firms, and distribution organizations over his 40-year career. He was previously Finra 7,24,66 registered and held life insurance licenses in multiple states. He is a graduate of Stony Brook University.
Find the Best Landlord Insurance Rates & Companies in Louisiana
Louisiana is a state many homeowners, renters, and landlords call home. If you own a rental property in Louisiana, you need to ensure it's protected against disasters like severe weather, fire, or theft that could leave you in a financial bind. You also need to protect your assets if you are sued for some type of negligence. For landlords in Louisiana, it’s critical to find the right landlord insurance.
Luckily, a local independent insurance agent can help you find the right landlord insurance policy. Your agent can get quotes from multiple landlord insurance companies in Louisiana so you can find the policy that best meets your needs and budget. But first, here's a breakdown of Louisiana landlord insurance rates, requirements, and more.
Best Landlord Insurance Companies in Louisiana
Louisiana is home to many landlord insurance companies, but not all are equal in terms of cost and quality. That's why it's helpful to have a few recommendations when you start your search for the best landlord insurance. Here are our top picks for the best landlord insurance companies in Louisiana.
- Progressive: This carrier sells landlord insurance and many other types of personal and business insurance. Progressive has an outstanding financial strength rating from AM Best and offers many discounts and 24/7/365 customer service.
- Foremost: Foremost has excellent ratings from AM Best and the Better Business Bureau (BBB), offers coverage nationwide, and provides 24/7 claims reporting services.
- REinsure Pro: This carrier sells many types of property insurance, including landlord. REInsure Pro has a great rating from the BBB and a reputation for fast claim responses.
A Louisiana independent insurance agent can help you compare landlord insurance quotes from each of these carriers and others near you.
What Is Landlord Insurance?
Landlord insurance is similar to homeowners insurance in that it protects your property in the event of a fire, storm damage, or other covered perils. The difference is that landlord insurance is underwritten to protect landlords in their unique situation.
Landlord insurance protects insured buildings but not tenants' personal property. It also covers the loss of rental income and the increased liability risks that landlords face.
How Is Landlord Insurance Different from Home Insurance?
Certain aspects of business insurance are also found in landlord insurance, making this coverage different from a home insurance policy. Loss of income protection for landlords is a crucial part of landlord insurance, which is not provided by homeowners insurance.
Thanks to business interruption coverage, landlords can continue to collect rental income and pay other ongoing expenses during periods of temporary covered closures, such as due to a natural disaster that causes extensive property damage.
Is Landlord Insurance Required in Louisiana?
Louisiana state law does not require tenants to purchase renters insurance. You, as a landlord, are also not legally required to purchase landlord insurance, although your lender will most likely require it if you have a mortgage on your property.
Still, many landlords require tenants to purchase renters insurance to avoid disputes that can arise from damage to personal belongings and disputes over liability claims or lawsuits. If you choose to require your tenants to have renters insurance, it must be stated in the lease agreement, with specific tenant responsibilities and the consequences of not providing proof of insurance made clear.
What Landlord Insurance in Louisiana Can Cover
Landlord insurance provides critical protection that can't be found in other policies. A landlord insurance policy in Louisiana typically provides several types of coverage, including:
- Dwelling coverage: This can reimburse you for repairs to your rental property's dwelling and attached structures in case fire, smoke, vandalism, windstorms, hail, or tenants cause damage or destruction.
- Loss of income coverage: This can reimburse you for lost rental income and provide a continuation of coverage for other expenses if a rental property becomes temporarily uninhabitable due to a covered loss, such as hail damage, vandalism, or a fire.
- Liability insurance: This can reimburse you for tenant and other third-party lawsuit expenses related to claims of bodily injury or personal property damage.
- Premises medical protection coverage: This can reimburse you for medical expenses if a tenant gets injured in a covered event while living at your rental property.
- Other structures coverage: This can reimburse you for losses related to the damage or destruction of detached structures against the same perils as dwelling coverage.
Depending on your unique needs, you'll likely need to add certain types of optional coverage to your Louisiana landlord insurance policy.
Landlords in Louisiana may also want to consider adding rent guarantee insurance, natural disaster insurance, vandalism coverage, burglary coverage, rental property under construction coverage, building code coverage, employer liability insurance, and landlord contents insurance to their policies.
What Landlord Insurance in Louisiana Will Not Cover
Louisiana landlord insurance comes with various exclusions that you should review when you first get your policy. Landlord insurance is unlikely to cover any of the following:
- Loss, theft, damage, or destruction of your personal property
- Flood or earthquake damage or destruction
- Routine maintenance costs due to normal wear and tear
- Damage to or loss of tenants' personal property
- Water or sewer backup damage or destruction
- Intentional or malicious acts to third parties
Endorsements for flood damage, sewer backups, and other incidents on this list may be available. However, standard Louisiana landlord insurance is unlikely to cover these perils.
How Much Does Landlord Insurance Cost in Louisiana?
Owning a rental property can sometimes be riskier than owning a private dwelling. For that reason, landlord insurance generally costs quite a bit more than a standard homeowners policy.
Currently, Louisiana is the most expensive state for landlord insurance in the U.S. Landlord insurance costs an average of $207 per month and $2,484 per year in Louisiana. This increased cost is partially due to the extreme risk of severe weather, such as hurricanes, in Louisiana compared to most other areas of the country.
However, the cost of landlord insurance can vary considerably based on your unique property and set of risks. Some of the factors that can influence the cost of landlord insurance in Louisiana include:
- Your exact location and local crime and weather risks
- The age, size, condition, and construction of your insured buildings
- The number of rental units you own
- Whether you allow smokers to rent from you
- Whether your complex has a swimming pool
- The type and amount of coverage you need
You may be able to save on your landlord insurance premiums if your buildings have fire sprinklers, burglar alarms, gated access, or other security systems installed in the complex and the rental units.
Your best bet is to work with an independent insurance agent who can get landlord insurance quotes from multiple carriers. They can help you compare costs and coverage and choose the landlord insurance policy that best fits your budget.
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Popular Questions about Louisiana Landlord Insurance
You're not required by state law to have landlord insurance in Louisiana. However, you might be required to have coverage by your lender if you have a mortgage on your property.
Landlord insurance does not cover your tenants’ personal property. Further, damage to your building caused by tenants isn't always covered by landlord insurance in Louisiana. Typically, landlord insurance in Louisiana covers sudden and accidental damage caused by a tenant.
Keep in mind the intentional damage by a tenant will not be covered by landlord insurance in Louisiana. Standard landlord insurance policies can’t protect you if your tenant punches in a wall, kicks in a door, or otherwise intentionally damages some part of a unit. You may, however, be able to purchase additional vandalism coverage that covers some kinds of intentional damage to your building.
Landlord insurance rates in Louisiana are actually the most expensive in the nation. This year, the average cost of landlord insurance in Louisiana is only $2,484 annually or $207 monthly.
According to our research, Progressive is the best landlord insurance company in Louisiana this year. Progressive provides outstanding customer service and rates, coverage options, discounts, and more.
Landlords in Louisiana aren't required by law to cover their renters' property. Louisiana landlord insurance policies don't provide coverage for tenants' personal items, either, which is why many landlords require tenants to have their own renters insurance.
In Louisiana, landlord insurance usually doesn't cover eviction expenses. Sometimes, however, you can purchase extra endorsements or separate policies to get coverage for eviction expenses.
Louisiana independent insurance agents can help you find the landlord insurance you need from a top-rated local carrier. Independent insurance agents work hard to find quality coverage at the most affordable rate. They'll shop and compare landlord insurance quotes from several carriers for you.
And down the road, they can help you file landlord insurance claims or update your coverage as needed. Your agent can help you find landlord insurance in Baton Rouge or wherever you reside.
https://www.simplyinsurance.com/landlord-insurance-rates-by-state/