Expanded coverage for landlords’ risks

Managing general agent APRIL Canada announced Tuesday it has launched what it is calling the “only” unpaid rents and damage insurance for landlords in Ontario and Quebec.

Historically, these two risks are not addressed by current insurance offerings, as insurers have treated landlords like any other homeowners, “which they are not,” said Charlotte Malaurie, national residential director at APRIL, in a press release. “Two of the biggest concerns for Canadian landlords are that the tenants do not pay their rents or that they find their rented property damaged at the end of the tenancy.”

The product covers:

• Unpaid rents arising from rent arrears, a tenant’s death, or property that cannot be occupied by another tenant;
• Theft or damage caused by tenants.

Either or both coverages are available as a standalone policy or an endorsement to an APRIL property and liability rental policy. The coverages are available to property owners who rent out all or part of their properties.

The unpaid rent offering covers up to 24 weeks of rent for defaulting tenants; units that are impossible to rent (only if the claim is covered under damage by tenants); or failure to vacate. Up to four weeks of rent is covered if a tenant vacates before the end of the lease without respecting proper notice, dies or is released by a court from his or her lease obligations due to hardship. Maximum limits are $25,000 per rented unit or $100,000 per year.

Tenant damage offers:

• Theft up to $50,000
• Malicious damage up to $50,000
• Accidental damage up to $25,000
• Non-malicious damage and pet damage
• A minimum deductible of $1,000.