Apartment Building Insurance Program
Apartment building owners can get coverage here. We review your current program and place property, general liability, umbrella and excess, and related habitational coverage, including loss of rents, equipment breakdown, crime, EPL and D&O for associations where relevant, and flood or earthquake where needed, through a licensed insurance agency with access to admitted and excess and surplus lines markets.
The service is built for landlords and multifamily operators whose buildings need more than one market's view: older properties, non-renewals, sharp renewal increases, and acquisitions that need coverage to close. It starts with a free review of the policies you have now.
Who is this apartment building insurance program for?
- Small landlords with a single building, up to operators running several properties or a portfolio across states.
- Garden-style, mid-rise, mixed-use, student, and senior or affordable housing. See garden-style, mid-rise, mixed-use, student housing, and senior and affordable coverage, or all property types.
- Older buildings, frame construction, and properties with original or partially updated systems. See insurance for older apartment buildings.
- Owners facing a non-renewal or a large renewal increase. See what to do after a non-renewal; the renewal strategy guide covers what to prepare.
- New acquisitions that need coverage bound and lender evidence of insurance to close. See the apartment buyer insurance guide.
What coverage do you place for apartment buildings?
Commercial property
Buildings, common area contents, and site improvements, written at a replacement cost value you can support, with ordinance or law and the wind, hail, and named storm terms your location calls for.
General liability
Bodily injury and property damage claims from tenants, guests, and the public, including slip and fall, premises security, and common area claims, with attention to habitational exclusions that can narrow the policy.
Umbrella and excess liability
Higher liability limits above general liability, auto, and employers liability, checked for follow form wording so the excess layer does not take back coverage the primary policy gives.
Loss of rents
Rental income lost while damaged units are repaired, sized to how long a rebuild would actually take and to what your lender requires.
Equipment breakdown
Boilers, HVAC, electrical panels, elevators, and other building systems that fail from mechanical or electrical breakdown rather than fire or storm.
Crime and fidelity
Employee theft, theft of rent and deposits, and funds transfer fraud, often required when a manager or association handles tenant money.
Employment practices and directors and officers
EPL for owners and managers with on-site staff, and D&O for condominium associations, cooperatives, and ownership entities with a board, where relevant.
Flood and earthquake
Flood coverage where a building sits in a flood zone or a lender requires it, and earthquake coverage where the location and construction call for it.
Other lines, such as workers compensation for on-site staff, cyber, and commercial auto, are added when the operation calls for them. The full list is on the coverage overview.
How does this compare to your other options?
An apartment owner generally has a few places to look for coverage. Each has tradeoffs.
Your current agent's standard package policy
Convenient, and often a fine fit for a newer building with a clean loss history. A package policy usually reflects one market's appetite, so older buildings, frame construction, or prior losses can lead to a non-renewal, a sharp increase, or narrowed coverage with few alternatives offered.
Online small-landlord insurers
Fast to quote for small rentals. Eligibility rules can exclude larger buildings, mixed-use, older systems, or loss history, and the policy forms and limits may not match what a commercial lender asks for.
Large national brokers' habitational programs
Built for the class and strong for large portfolios. Smaller owners can find minimum premiums or eligibility rules that do not fit, and a program places your building with that program's markets.
The property manager's master program
Simple when your manager offers it. Coverage terms, deductibles, and limits are set for the whole program rather than your building, and the coverage can end if you change managers.
This service
A review of your existing program, then placement through a licensed insurance agency with admitted and excess and surplus lines markets, so you can compare several markets side by side, including ones that look at older buildings, frame construction, and prior losses. Lender requirements are read and matched as part of the work. The tradeoff is that it takes your documents and a little time up front.
Get your apartment insurance program reviewed
Send what you have. We check valuation, exclusions, deductibles, and lender requirements at no cost.
Start the free coverage reviewWhat do we need from you?
- Current declarations pages for each policy (property, general liability, umbrella, and any others).
- A statement of values or unit list for each building: address, unit count, square footage, construction, and occupancy.
- Five years of loss runs from your current and prior insurers.
- Your lender's insurance requirements, if the property is financed. The lender requirements guide explains what to look for.
- Building updates: the year the roof, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC were last updated, and any fire protection or water leak detection.
If you do not have everything, send what you have. The review can start with declarations pages and loss runs. The coverage checklist is a useful way to see what a building like yours usually carries.
What happens next?
- You send your policies and documents, or start with the coverage review form.
- We review the program and send back the gaps we find: valuation, exclusions, deductibles, and lender compliance issues.
- We build a submission and take it to admitted and excess and surplus lines markets that write habitational risk. Underwriters may ask follow-up questions about building updates and loss history.
- You receive options to compare, with the differences in coverage explained, not just price.
- Once you choose, coverage is bound and certificates and evidence of insurance are issued to your lender and other parties.
If you have a renewal date, a non-renewal notice, or a closing date, tell us at the start so the work can be sequenced around it. Reviews go more smoothly when they start well ahead of the deadline.
Frequently asked questions
Who insures apartment buildings?
Apartment buildings are insured by insurance companies that write habitational risk, in both the admitted market and the excess and surplus lines market. Owners usually reach those markets through a licensed insurance agency. This service reviews your current apartment insurance program and places property, general liability, umbrella, and related coverage through a licensed insurance agency with access to admitted and excess and surplus lines markets.
Can you help if my apartment building was non-renewed?
Yes. A non-renewal usually means the current insurer has changed its appetite for the building, the location, or the loss history, not that the building cannot be insured. Send the non-renewal notice, your current declarations pages, and your loss runs as early as you can, and the account can be taken to markets that are writing that type of building.
Do you insure older apartment buildings?
Yes. Older buildings, frame construction, and buildings with original systems are written regularly, though fewer markets will look at them. Underwriters focus on the condition and update history of the roof, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC, so documenting those updates is often what makes an older building insurable on good terms.
What do lenders typically require for apartment building insurance?
Requirements vary by lender and loan program, so the loan documents are the source to follow. Commonly, lenders ask for replacement cost property coverage, loss of rents, general liability and often umbrella limits, flood coverage when the building is in a flood zone, and specific mortgagee and additional insured wording on certificates. We read your lender's insurance requirements and line the program up to them.
Can you insure a building I am buying?
Yes. New acquisitions often need coverage bound before closing and evidence of insurance that satisfies the lender. Share the purchase timeline, the property details, the seller's loss runs if available, and the lender's insurance requirements, so coverage can be in place for the closing date.
Is the coverage review free?
Yes. The review of your current policies is free and carries no obligation. Premium for any coverage you choose is set by the insurer that writes it.
Related reading
Get Your Apartment Building Coverage Reviewed
A free, no-obligation review of your current program, with coverage placed through a licensed insurance agency.