Apartment Building Insurance
If you own an apartment building then you should be familiar with the term apartment building insurance, since it is the kind of coverage that will protect you against loses incurred in case of any unforeseen event. The first step towards procuring apartment building insurance is talking to an insurance agent and being ready with answers to the questions he will ask you during the process.
The initial meeting with the insurance agent is actually pretty crucial, since the agent must understand your specific needs, which he will derive from your answers. Only when he has a clear idea of what your expectations are as the landlord, will he be able to provide you with quotes that match your requirements. Remember, your answers must be as accurate as possible, and if you are not sure of any fact, do not base your answers on a hunch; instead do some research and try to come up with the right data, before your interview with the insurance agent.
The very first question you will be asked is “how old is the building?” If the right answer is not with you, then the realtor or the previous owner of the building should be able to tell you, and if that is not possible, check with the records section of the city.
The next question will be “what has the building been appraised at?” Usually a building is appraised by the lending bank at the time of sale. If that did not happen, you can get a private appraisal done. The appraisal is important since it can, to some extent, help figure out replacements costs.
The third question is “when was the last appraisal”, which is basically to determine if the value has taken into account rising construction costs, as it will affect your apartment building insurance quote.
The question “when was the building inspected last?” must be answered with the maximum accuracy, since this involves the safety of your building.
“Is the apartment building inside city limits or outside?” and “are there special zoning regulations you should be aware of?” are asked to determine whether there are any particular city ordinance that may affect construction work, if required in future.
The final question that the insurance agent will ask you and the answer will play an important role in deciding your insurance coverage is “does the building operate on city sewer or its own septic system?”
If you have the answers to these questions ready when talking to an agent for apartment building insurance, you will be able to navigate your way through quite smoothly.