A homeowner called me last week to discuss home insurance on her Dallas area duplex. It was coming up for renewal and she wanted to confirm she was not over paying for her home insurance. I was delighted to review her current rate and advise her on her coverage. Based on that conversation, let’s review insurance considerations for a duplex.
I received a call last month from an investment property owner. He’d bought a duplex in Houston earlier this year as a rental property and had a question about the insurance he’d originally purchased from another agent. Even though he had only bought one side of the duplex, he’d been told most carriers required both sides be covered in order to write a duplex insurance policy. He wanted to know if that was correct.
I received an email over the weekend that asked an interesting question with implications for homeowners and homeowner associations. The question came from an individual who handles the association insurance policy for a community of duplexes owned by active adults over 55. Her question addressed a concern she has about several homeowners who have paid off their mortgages and, as a result, may not carry home insurance. She asked, “If one side of [a] duplex is damaged who repairs the whole roof?”
I have received several emails and calls over the last few weeks about home insurance for a duplex, so I thought this would be an excellent time to revisit this. Insuring a duplex can be the same as writing a home insurance policy for a single family home and it can be very different.
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