Rental property coverage
Landlord Insurance in Louisiana
The moment a property stops being your home and starts being a rental, your homeowners policy stops being the right policy — and in most cases stops responding at all. Landlord insurance covers the building, your liability as an owner, and the rent you lose while it is uninhabitable.
Landlord insurance, often written as a dwelling fire policy, covers a property you own and rent to someone else. It typically includes the building itself, other structures on the lot, your liability as the property owner, and loss of rental income while the property is uninhabitable after a covered loss. It does not cover your tenant's belongings — those are the tenant's responsibility through a renters policy — and it does not cover flood, which always requires a separate policy. Crucially, a standard homeowners policy will generally not respond to a claim on a property you rent out, because renting changes the occupancy the policy was underwritten for. Telling your insurer the property is tenanted is not optional; failing to is how claims get denied.
- A homeowners policy generally will not cover a property you rent out.
- Loss of rental income is the coverage owners most often overlook.
- Your tenant's belongings are not covered — they need renters insurance.
- Flood is separate here too, with a 30-day waiting period.
The Root Agency provides landlord and rental property insurance across Louisiana — licensed statewide from our Baton Rouge office.
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Why a homeowners policy will not do
Homeowners policies are underwritten on the assumption that you live in the property. Renting it out changes the occupancy, the risk profile, and who is coming and going — so the policy no longer matches the thing it was written for.
This is the most consequential misunderstanding in this area. Landlords who inherit a property, move out and rent their old home, or start with a short-term let frequently leave the homeowners policy in place and assume it carries over. It generally does not, and the discovery usually happens at claim time.
What landlord insurance covers
The dwelling itself, other structures on the lot such as a detached garage or fence, the owner's liability if a tenant or visitor is injured, loss of rental income while the property cannot be lived in after a covered loss, and any appliances or furnishings you own and provide.
What it does not cover
Your tenant's personal belongings, flood, ordinary wear and tear or maintenance, and in most cases damage the tenant causes deliberately. It also will not cover a vacant property indefinitely — extended vacancy usually needs a specific endorsement.
Tell your insurer as soon as a property becomes tenanted, including if it is a temporary arrangement. It is a routine change to make in advance and a serious problem to explain after a loss.
The overlooked coverage
Loss of rental income
Owners tend to think about the building. The coverage that most often decides whether a bad year is survivable is the one covering the income.
If a covered loss makes the property uninhabitable — a fire, a storm, a burst pipe — your tenant moves out and the rent stops, but the mortgage does not. Loss of rental income coverage pays the rent you would have collected while repairs are carried out, usually for a defined period.
- Check the limit is based on your actual rent, not an estimate from when the policy was written
- Check the period covered — repairs after a Louisiana storm can take longer than you expect
- Confirm it is triggered by any covered loss, not only by fire
- Remember it does not pay when a tenant simply leaves or stops paying
- Update the limit whenever your rent changes
That fourth point catches people out. Loss of rental income responds to physical damage, not to vacancy or non-payment. Rent guarantee is a different product entirely.
Not sure what your rental policy would actually pay?
Drawing the line
Your policy and your tenant's policy
Two separate policies cover a tenanted property, and the boundary between them is clean once you see it. Yours covers the building and your liability. Your tenant's renters policy covers their belongings and their liability.
Requiring renters insurance in the lease is standard practice and costs you nothing. It protects the tenant and reduces the chance of a dispute landing on your policy.
Many Louisiana landlords now write a renters insurance requirement into the lease and ask for proof at signing. It is inexpensive for the tenant — see renters insurance — and it means a tenant's losses do not become an argument with you.
Locally
What Louisiana adds to the picture
Owning rental property in this state brings the same exposures as owning a home here, with the added complication that someone else is living in it.
Named-storm deductible
Your policy will almost certainly carry a separate hurricane or named-storm deductible set as a percentage of the dwelling coverage rather than a flat sum, commonly 2% to 5%. On a property insured for $200,000 a 5% deductible is $10,000 before the policy responds. Know that figure in dollars.
Flood is still separate
No landlord policy covers flood, and rental properties are no more exempt than owner-occupied ones. The 2016 floods damaged large numbers of Louisiana properties outside mapped high-risk zones. Flood carries a 30-day waiting period and has to be arranged in advance.
Multiple properties
If you own several rentals, they can often be written together, which simplifies renewals and can improve pricing. It also means one person is looking at the whole portfolio rather than each property in isolation.
Umbrella liability
Rental property increases your liability exposure, because more people have a right to be on premises you own. An umbrella policy sitting above the landlord and personal policies is worth pricing, particularly once you own more than one property.
Related coverage worth reading: Louisiana flood insurance, umbrella insurance, and home insurance for a property you actually live in. If you rent out a condo unit rather than a house, see condo insurance, where the master policy changes what you need.
Own a rental in Louisiana? Let's make sure it is written correctly.
Landlord FAQ
Common Louisiana landlord insurance questions
Get a Louisiana landlord insurance quote
Tell us about the property and how it is tenanted and we will make sure it is written on the right form, with a loss-of-rent limit that matches your actual rent and a named-storm deductible you have actually seen in dollars.