Real Estate Business Insurance California: Brokers & Landlords

Real estate has a strange risk profile. Most of the money in the deal isn’t yours, most of the property isn’t yours, and most of the people you deal with are strangers you met a few weeks ago. When something goes wrong, you’re usually the easiest person to sue.

I’m Shalom Samya, a licensed commercial insurance broker in Tarzana, and I work with real estate brokerages, independent agents, property managers and income property owners across Los Angeles. This guide covers how real estate business insurance in California actually works: which policies each type of real estate business needs, where the gaps usually hide, and what owners, lenders and management contracts will ask you to carry.

I’ve split it by business type, because a two-agent brokerage in Encino and a landlord with three fourplexes in Van Nuys have very different problems.

Who This Guide Is For

Real estate is a broad label. For insurance purposes, I group clients into four buckets:

• Brokerages and agents. DRE-licensed brokers and the salespeople working under them. Your main risk is professional: bad advice, missed disclosures, deals that fall apart.
• Property managers. Companies managing residential or commercial buildings for owners. You carry professional risk, premises risk, employee risk and the risk of handling other people’s money.
• Residential income property owners. Landlords of single-family rentals, duplexes, small multifamily and larger apartment buildings.
• Commercial property owners. Owners of retail strips, office buildings, industrial space and mixed-use property.

Many clients sit in more than one bucket. A broker who also manages a few buildings and owns a couple of rentals needs all three sets of coverage, and the policies have to fit together without overlapping or leaving holes.

Why Real Estate Insurance in California Is Harder Than It Looks

Three things make real estate in this state different from most places.

The property market has tightened

Over the last several years, a number of standard carriers have cut back on writing property in California, especially in wildfire-exposed areas. Owners who never thought about insurance availability are now getting non-renewal notices on buildings they’ve held for decades.

In parts of Los Angeles County, particularly hillside and brush-adjacent neighborhoods, the California FAIR Plan has become the fallback for fire coverage. I’ll get into what that means for income property below.

California is a litigation-heavy state

Tenant claims, buyer claims, habitability disputes and discrimination allegations are all common here. Los Angeles adds its own layer: rent stabilization rules, just-cause eviction rules and tenant protection ordinances that can turn a routine landlord decision into a lawsuit.

Not every one of those claims is covered by a standard policy. Knowing which ones are, and which ones aren’t, is most of the job.

Money moves through your hands

Brokers and property managers handle earnest money, security deposits, rent collections and trust funds. That creates two risks that most small businesses never face: employee theft of client money, and wire fraud during a transaction. Both need specific coverage, and neither is automatically included in a general liability or E&O policy.

Coverage by Real Estate Business Type

Here’s the overview. Use it as a starting checklist, not a final answer. Every business has details that change the picture.

Coverage	Brokerage / Agents	Property Manager	Residential Landlord	Commercial Property Owner
Real estate or property manager E&O	Core	Core	Rarely	Rarely
General liability	Core	Core	Core	Core
Property (building)	Only if you own the office	Only if you own the office	Core	Core
Business personal property	Recommended	Recommended	If you furnish units or common areas	If you own equipment on site
Loss of rents / business income	Business income for your office	Business income for your office	Core	Core
Earthquake / DIC	Optional	Optional	Strongly consider	Strongly consider; often lender-driven
Workers’ compensation	Required with any employees	Required with any employees	Required if you employ an on-site manager or staff	Required with any employees
Hired and non-owned auto	Core	Core	Recommended	Recommended
Crime / fidelity	Strongly recommended	Core (trust funds)	If staff collect rent	If staff collect rent
Cyber with social engineering	Core	Core	Recommended	Recommended
EPLI	Recommended	Recommended	If you have employees	If you have employees
Umbrella / excess	Recommended	Strongly recommended	Strongly recommended	Strongly recommended

Now let’s go through each piece.

Real Estate E&O Insurance

Real estate E&O insurance is the policy brokerages and agents lean on most. It covers claims that your professional work caused a client a financial loss.

What it typically covers

Common claims I see in real estate E&O include:

• Failure to disclose a known defect (roof, foundation, water intrusion, unpermitted work).
• Misrepresenting square footage, lot size, zoning or permitted use.
• Missed deadlines in the purchase contract that cost a client the deal or their deposit.
• Breach of fiduciary duty, especially in dual agency situations.
• Advice about financing, taxes or property condition that went beyond what the agent should have been giving.

E&O pays for defense and for settlements or judgments, up to your limit. In real estate, defense costs alone can be significant even when the claim has no merit, because buyers often sue everyone involved in the transaction at once.

Is E&O required for California agents?

As far as I’m aware, the California Department of Real Estate does not require licensees to carry E&O as a condition of the license. Some states do. California doesn’t.

That doesn’t make it optional in practice. Most brokerages require it for their agents, either through a group policy the brokerage buys or by requiring each agent to carry their own. If you’re an independent broker without it, one lawsuit from a disappointed buyer can cost more than a decade of premiums.

Details that matter in an E&O policy

• Claims-made form. Almost all real estate E&O is written on a claims-made basis. Coverage applies to claims first made while the policy is active, and only for work performed after your retroactive date. Never let a policy lapse, and don’t accept a new retro date when you switch carriers unless you have no choice.
• Defense inside or outside limits. If defense costs erode your limit, a $1 million policy may leave far less for a settlement.
• Property management activities. Many agent E&O policies exclude or limit property management. If you manage even a few doors, confirm that work is covered.
• Your own deals. Transactions where you or a relative have an ownership interest are commonly excluded. If you buy and sell for your own account, ask about this.
• Fair housing and discrimination. Some forms include limited defense coverage for these allegations. Others exclude them completely.
• Lockbox and showing coverage. Some policies extend to property damage or theft tied to showings. Many don’t.

Property Manager E&O and Property Management Insurance in California

Property management insurance in California starts with a professional liability policy written specifically for managers. A standard real estate agent E&O form usually isn’t built for the claims property managers face.

What property manager E&O should address

• Failure to collect rent or enforce lease terms on the owner’s behalf.
• Failure to maintain proper insurance on the owner’s building (yes, owners sue managers for this).
• Mishandled security deposits and move-out accounting.
• Errors in tenant screening, notices or eviction procedure.
• Failure to respond to maintenance or habitability complaints in time.
• Fair housing allegations from applicants or tenants.

The Los Angeles overlay

Managers in the City of Los Angeles work under the Rent Stabilization Ordinance for covered buildings, plus tenant anti-harassment and relocation rules. Other cities in the county, such as Santa Monica, West Hollywood and Beverly Hills, have their own rules.

A mistake on a notice or a relocation payment can become a claim from a tenant, and then a claim from the owner against you. I want to see an E&O policy that responds to both directions.

Wrongful eviction and tenant discrimination coverage

Wrongful eviction, invasion of the right of private occupancy and discrimination claims are often excluded or narrowly covered under general liability. Some property manager E&O and some specialty landlord forms add this coverage, sometimes with a sublimit.

If you manage in rent-controlled jurisdictions, this is one of the first things I check. It’s also one of the easiest coverages to assume you have when you don’t.

General Liability for Real Estate Businesses

General liability insurance covers bodily injury and property damage to third parties, plus personal and advertising injury. Every real estate business needs it, but the exposure looks very different depending on what you do.

For brokerages and agents

Your GL exposure is mostly your office and your activities: a visitor trips in your lobby, an agent damages a seller’s property during a showing, a client is injured at an open house. Brokerage GL is usually affordable because the premises risk is modest.

Watch the advertising injury piece. Using a listing photo you don’t have rights to, or copy that disparages a competitor, can produce a claim. Some GL policies cover it; some limit it.

For property managers

You don’t own the buildings, but you can still be named in every slip-and-fall, assault and dog bite claim at a property you manage. That’s why managers need two layers of protection:

• Your own GL policy, covering your office and your operations.
• Additional insured status on each owner’s GL policy, so the owner’s carrier defends you for claims arising at that building.

The second layer is the one managers most often let slide. More on that in the contract section below.

For landlords and commercial owners

Income property GL is sometimes called habitational liability for residential buildings, or lessor’s risk only (LRO) liability for commercial buildings leased to tenants. The carrier looks at unit count, building age, square footage, security, pools and past claims.

Habitational GL in California can carry exclusions you need to read carefully. Common ones include:

• Assault and battery exclusions or sublimits.
• Habitability exclusions.
• Mold, lead paint and pollution exclusions.
• Animal liability exclusions or restrictions.
• Exclusions for work done by uninsured contractors.

Two quotes with the same limit can be very different policies. When I compare habitational GL options, I compare exclusions first and price second.

Landlord Insurance in Los Angeles

For owners of residential income property, landlord insurance in Los Angeles means more than a dwelling fire policy. Here’s how I structure it.

Dwelling fire vs. commercial package

Owners of one to four unit residential properties are often written on a dwelling fire form (DP-1, DP-2 or DP-3), with liability added or written separately. Five units and up usually move to a commercial package policy that combines property and liability.

The DP-3 form is the broadest of the three dwelling forms and is usually what I recommend when the property qualifies. DP-1 is bare-bones, often actual cash value, and leaves a lot uncovered.

Loss of rents

Loss of rents (also called fair rental value or rental income coverage) replaces the rent you lose when a covered loss makes units uninhabitable. If a fire takes a building offline for a year, your mortgage, property taxes and other costs keep running. Without rental income coverage, your cash flow stops while your obligations don’t.

Make sure the period of coverage is realistic. Rebuilding in Los Angeles, with permitting and contractor availability, often takes longer than owners expect. A 12-month limit may not be enough for a significant loss.

Tenant-related liability

Your liability policy protects you when a tenant or guest is injured on the property because of a condition you’re responsible for. Stair railings, lighting, pool gates and trip hazards are the usual suspects.

I also recommend requiring tenants to carry renters insurance with liability, and building that into the lease. It keeps some claims off your policy entirely.

Vacancy

Many property policies reduce or suspend certain coverages once a building has been vacant for more than 60 consecutive days. If you’re between tenants for a long stretch, or holding a building empty for a remodel or redevelopment, tell your broker. There are vacancy permits and vacant building policies for that.

Commercial Property Owner Insurance

Commercial property owner insurance covers owners of office, retail, industrial and mixed-use buildings. The building coverage is similar in concept to residential, but the contracts and tenants add complexity.

Building valuation

Insure to replacement cost, not market value or purchase price. Land doesn’t burn, and construction costs in Southern California have risen sharply. I see buildings insured at values set years ago that would not come close to covering a rebuild today.

Watch for coinsurance clauses. If you’re underinsured relative to the building’s value, the carrier can reduce your claim payment proportionally, even on a partial loss.

Ordinance or law coverage

Much of Los Angeles’s building stock is older. After a loss, the city may require you to rebuild to current code, which can mean new electrical, fire sprinklers, accessibility upgrades or seismic work. Standard property policies often don’t pay for those upgrades, or the cost to demolish the undamaged portion.

Ordinance or law coverage fills that gap. For older buildings, I treat it as a must.

Business income and rental value

Commercial owners need rental value coverage for the same reason residential landlords need loss of rents. Many commercial leases abate rent when the space is unusable, so your income can stop the day of the loss.

Tenant insurance requirements

Your leases should require tenants to carry GL naming you as additional insured, with a waiver of subrogation, and property coverage for their own improvements and contents. Then someone has to actually collect and track certificates. An expired tenant certificate is one of the most common gaps I find when reviewing a commercial owner’s program.

Wildfire, the FAIR Plan and Earthquake

This is the part of the conversation that has changed the most in recent years.

When the FAIR Plan comes in

The California FAIR Plan is an insurer of last resort, set up so property owners who can’t get fire coverage in the standard market still have an option. It offers both residential and commercial policies.

FAIR Plan coverage is intentionally basic. It focuses on fire and a limited set of other perils. It does not include liability, and it may not include things like water damage or theft that a standard property policy would.

Pairing the FAIR Plan with a DIC policy

When a client ends up on the FAIR Plan, I usually pair it with a Difference in Conditions (DIC) policy that fills in the perils the FAIR Plan doesn’t cover, plus a separate liability policy. The combination can get you reasonably close to a full program, though it takes more coordination and more policies to manage.

Before accepting the FAIR Plan, it’s worth having a broker check the surplus lines and specialty market. Sometimes there’s a better option. Sometimes there isn’t, and the FAIR Plan plus DIC is the right answer.

Earthquake is a separate decision

Standard property policies in California exclude earthquake damage. You need a separate earthquake policy or an earthquake DIC policy.

The California Earthquake Authority serves residential homeowners, condo owners, renters and mobilehome owners. It is generally not the answer for commercial buildings or larger apartment complexes, which are placed in the private market.

Earthquake deductibles are usually a percentage of the insured value, often in the range of 5% to 20% or more. On a large building, that’s a big number. Earthquake coverage is still worth pricing, especially if you’re financed and the lender requires it, or if the building is a soft-story or older construction.

Soft-story buildings

Los Angeles has a mandatory seismic retrofit program for certain wood-frame soft-story buildings. If your building was on the list and the retrofit is done, get the documentation to your broker. Some carriers view completed retrofits favorably when underwriting earthquake coverage.

Crime and Fidelity Coverage for Trust Funds

If you’re a broker or property manager, you’re likely holding client money in trust. The DRE has detailed rules on how trust funds must be handled and accounted for.

The insurance problem is simple: if an employee, bookkeeper or partner steals from the trust account, you’re responsible for making the clients whole. General liability doesn’t cover that. Most E&O policies specifically exclude theft, conversion and commingling of funds.

What crime coverage does

A commercial crime policy, sometimes called a fidelity bond, covers:

• Employee theft of money, securities or property, including funds you hold for clients (confirm the “client property” extension is included).
• Forgery or alteration of checks and drafts.
• Computer fraud, where someone hacks your system to move money.
• Funds transfer fraud, where someone fraudulently instructs your bank to move funds.
• Social engineering, where someone tricks you or your staff into sending money voluntarily (often a separate endorsement with a sublimit).

Some owners require property managers to carry a specific crime limit in the management agreement, often sized to the rents collected each month.

Cyber Insurance and Wire Fraud in Real Estate Transactions

If I had to name the single biggest uninsured risk I see in real estate offices, it’s wire fraud.

How the scheme usually works

A criminal gets into an agent’s, escrow officer’s or client’s email, often through a phishing link. They watch the transaction quietly. Right before closing, they send the buyer “updated” wiring instructions that look like they came from the agent or escrow. The buyer wires the down payment to the criminal’s account.

Once the money is gone, it’s often very hard to recover. Then the lawsuits start, and the buyer typically sues everyone in the chain.

Which policy responds

This is where it gets tricky. Depending on the facts, the loss might fall under:

• Cyber liability, if your email system was compromised and a client sues you for the loss.
• Social engineering coverage (under a cyber or crime policy), if your own staff were tricked into sending money.
• E&O, if the claim is framed as negligence in how you communicated wiring instructions. Many E&O policies exclude it, though.

Social engineering coverage is often sublimited to a fraction of the policy limit, sometimes $100,000 or $250,000. For brokerages handling six and seven-figure transactions, I recommend looking hard at that number.

Controls matter as much as coverage

Carriers now ask about your controls, and the answers affect your pricing and eligibility. The basics I recommend:

• Multi-factor authentication on every email account, including agents’ personal accounts used for business.
• A written policy that wiring instructions are never changed by email, and a warning to clients in every transaction.
• Verbal confirmation of any wiring instructions using a known phone number, not one listed in the email.
• Regular phishing training for agents and staff.

Cyber policies also cover data breach response. You’re holding Social Security numbers, bank statements, tax returns and IDs from buyers, sellers and rental applicants. A breach triggers notification obligations under California law. See my page on cyber liability insurance for the full breakdown.

Not sure your current program would respond to a wire fraud claim? I’ll review your E&O, crime and cyber policies side by side at no cost and show you where the gaps are. Call me at (323) 999-6067 or request a free coverage review.

Workers’ Compensation for Real Estate Businesses

California Labor Code §3700 requires virtually every employer with even one employee to carry workers’ compensation. Operating without it is a crime, and the Labor Commissioner can issue stop orders and penalties.

Brokerages

Administrative staff, transaction coordinators, receptionists and office managers who are employees need to be covered. Agent classification is more complicated. Real estate licensees have a specific treatment under California law, and whether an agent is treated as an employee or independent contractor for workers’ comp purposes depends on the facts and the agreement. I’d have your employment counsel review your agent agreements, and I’ll structure the policy around what they conclude.

Property managers

Property management companies typically have office staff, leasing agents, maintenance workers and sometimes on-site managers. Each is rated under a different class code, priced per $100 of payroll. Maintenance and on-site staff carry higher rates than clerical staff.

Clarify in each management agreement whose employees the on-site staff are. If they’re on your payroll, they’re on your workers’ comp policy. If they’re the owner’s employees, the owner needs a policy.

Landlords with on-site managers

California’s housing regulations generally require an on-site manager at apartment buildings with 16 or more units. That manager is often an employee of the owner, sometimes paid partly in reduced rent. If they’re your employee, you need workers’ comp, even if you have no other employees.

The uninsured handyman problem

This is a big one for landlords. If you hire an unlicensed or uninsured contractor for repairs and one of their workers is injured, California law can treat that worker as your employee. Without workers’ comp, you could be personally on the hook for the injury claim.

My rule: get a certificate of insurance and verify the CSLB license before any contractor sets foot on the property, for any job of meaningful size. Details on how comp is priced and rated are on my California workers’ compensation page.

EPLI for Real Estate Businesses

Employment practices liability covers claims from employees for wrongful termination, harassment, discrimination and retaliation. Under FEHA, most employment protections apply once you have 5 or more employees, and harassment protections apply to employers with even 1.

For real estate, EPLI has another important feature: third-party coverage. Some EPLI policies can be extended to cover discrimination or harassment claims from non-employees, such as tenants, applicants or clients. For landlords and property managers, that can be a meaningful addition to fair housing protection. Availability and scope vary by carrier, so confirm what’s actually included.

More on this at my employment practices liability insurance page.

Auto Coverage for Agents and Managers

Agents drive clients to showings. Property managers drive between buildings. Maintenance staff drive to hardware stores. All of that driving usually happens in personal vehicles.

If an agent causes a serious accident while working, the injured party may sue the brokerage too. The agent’s personal auto policy responds first, but California’s private passenger minimums (30/60/15 since January 1, 2025) are low relative to a serious injury claim.

Hired and non-owned auto liability protects the business when employees or agents use vehicles the company doesn’t own. It’s usually inexpensive and can be added to a GL package or written separately. If the business owns vehicles, such as maintenance trucks, you need a full commercial auto policy.

Umbrella and Excess Liability

Real estate claims can be large. A serious injury at an apartment complex, a fire that injures tenants, or a multi-plaintiff habitability case can exceed a $1 million GL limit fast.

An umbrella policy sits over your GL, employer’s liability and auto, and adds limits in increments, typically starting at $1 million. For apartment owners and property managers, I strongly recommend one. Lenders on larger buildings often require one anyway.

Check that the umbrella actually follows form over your underlying policies. If your GL has an assault and battery sublimit, the umbrella may not add anything on top of it.

What Owners, Lenders and Contracts Typically Require

Much of real estate insurance is driven by contracts. Here’s what I usually see.

What owners require from property managers

Management agreements vary, but most well-drafted ones include insurance requirements along these lines:

Requirement	Typical Ask	What to Watch
Property manager E&O	$1M per claim is common; larger portfolios may ask for more	Claims-made form; must cover all managed properties and rent-control work
General liability	$1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate	Owner often named as additional insured on manager’s policy
Additional insured on owner’s GL	Manager named as additional insured on the owner’s policy	Get this in writing on every building; confirm it’s endorsed, not just listed on a certificate
Crime / fidelity	Limit tied to rents or funds held, often at least one month’s collections	Must include third-party / client property coverage
Workers’ compensation	Statutory limits plus employer’s liability (often $1M)	Clarify whose employees on-site staff are
Hired and non-owned auto	$1M combined single limit	Needed if staff drive for work in personal vehicles
Umbrella	$1M to $5M depending on portfolio size	Confirm it sits over GL, auto and employer’s liability
Waiver of subrogation / notice of cancellation	Frequently required	May need an endorsement; not automatic on every policy

If you’re a property manager, the most important line on that table is the one where you’re named as an additional insured on each owner’s liability policy. If an owner lets their coverage lapse or never adds you, every claim at that building falls on your own policy.

I recommend tracking owner certificates just as carefully as owners track yours.

What lenders require from owners

Lenders on income property typically require:

• Property coverage at replacement cost, with the lender named as mortgagee or loss payee.
• Rental income coverage, often for 12 months or more.
• General liability at specified limits, with the lender sometimes named as additional insured.
• Earthquake coverage on some loans, depending on the lender’s seismic review.
• Flood coverage where the property is in a designated flood zone.
• Carrier financial rating minimums.

That last point matters in the current California market. If the only available fire coverage is through the FAIR Plan or a non-admitted carrier, confirm with the lender early whether it satisfies the loan terms.

What commercial tenants and leases require

Commercial leases run in both directions. Tenants usually must carry GL naming the landlord as additional insured, property coverage on their improvements, and sometimes business interruption. Landlords are usually required to insure the building and common areas. Both sides typically exchange waivers of subrogation.

Read the insurance section of the lease before you sign it, not after a claim.

What brokerages require from agents

Brokerages commonly require agents to carry their own auto liability at limits above the state minimum, and sometimes to name the brokerage as additional insured. Some also require individual E&O if the brokerage doesn’t provide group coverage. If you’re an agent, ask what your brokerage’s policy actually covers before you assume you’re protected.

What Real Estate Business Insurance Costs in California

I don’t publish prices, because the range is enormous. A few general notes:

• Agent and brokerage E&O is driven by transaction volume, the number of agents, the types of properties sold, and past claims.
• Property manager E&O depends on doors or square footage managed, residential vs. commercial mix, rent control exposure and claims history.
• Habitational property and liability depends on building age, construction type, wildfire and earthquake exposure, unit count, occupancy and loss history. Older frame buildings in fire-exposed areas are the hardest to place.
• Workers’ comp is priced per $100 of payroll by class code, and your experience modification kicks in once your premium reaches eligibility thresholds.

All of these vary by class, payroll, revenue, location, claims history and carrier. The only way to know your number is to go to market. My article on how much business insurance costs explains the rating factors in more depth.

Common Mistakes I See in Real Estate Insurance Programs

Most real estate insurance problems aren’t exotic. They’re the same handful of issues, over and over.

Assuming GL covers tenant and fair housing claims

Discrimination, wrongful eviction and habitability claims are often excluded or narrowly covered under general liability. If you’re a landlord or manager in Los Angeles, find out where these claims would land before you need to know.

No crime coverage while holding trust funds

E&O won’t cover employee theft of client money. A crime policy will. This is one of the cheaper policies in the program and one of the most important for anyone holding deposits or rents.

Low social engineering sublimits

Having “cyber” on the policy list isn’t the same as having enough coverage for a stolen down payment. Look at the actual sublimit.

Stale building values

If your replacement cost hasn’t been updated in years, you may be underinsured and exposed to a coinsurance penalty. Update values regularly.

Not tracking certificates

Owners not tracking tenant certificates. Managers not confirming they’re named on owners’ policies. Landlords not checking contractor coverage. Each of these moves someone else’s risk onto your policy.

Letting a claims-made E&O policy lapse

If you retire, merge or switch carriers, you may need tail coverage (an extended reporting period). Real estate claims can surface years after the transaction closed.

For a broader list, see my article on what insurance your business needs.

How I Work With Real Estate Clients

I’ve been a licensed producer since 2014 and have worked in commercial insurance for more than 15 years. I’m a partner at Zolo Insurance Services, and I work with multiple carriers, so I can shop the market rather than push one company’s product.

With real estate clients, I start by mapping the business: what you do, what you own, what you manage, how money moves and what your contracts say. Then I build a program where the E&O, GL, property, crime and cyber pieces fit together, and I check the exclusions against how you actually operate.

I work with clients in English, Hebrew and Spanish, and many of my client relationships go back eight years or more. When something goes wrong, you call me, not a call center.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does California require real estate agents to carry E&O insurance?

The California DRE does not currently make E&O a condition of licensure. Most brokerages require it, though, either through a group policy or by requiring agents to carry their own. Without it, you’re paying for your own defense in any client lawsuit.

What insurance does a property management company need in California?

At minimum, property manager E&O, general liability, workers’ comp if you have employees, hired and non-owned auto, and crime coverage for trust funds. Most managers should also carry cyber with social engineering coverage, EPLI and an umbrella, and be named as additional insured on every owner’s liability policy.

Is landlord insurance in Los Angeles different from homeowners insurance?

Yes. A homeowners policy is built for owner-occupied homes and typically won’t properly cover a rental. Landlords need a dwelling fire or commercial policy with liability and loss of rents coverage. Earthquake is always a separate policy.

What happens if my building can only get coverage through the FAIR Plan?

The FAIR Plan provides basic fire coverage but not liability and not the full range of perils a standard policy covers. Most owners pair it with a Difference in Conditions policy and a separate liability policy. Confirm with your lender that the arrangement meets your loan requirements.

Does my insurance cover wire fraud in a real estate transaction?

Only if you have the right coverage. Cyber liability and social engineering coverage can respond, depending on the facts, but many policies sublimit social engineering to a small amount. Most E&O policies exclude this kind of loss. Review all three policies together.

Do I need workers’ comp for my apartment building’s on-site manager?

If the on-site manager is your employee, yes. California requires workers’ comp for virtually every employer with one or more employees, and that includes managers compensated partly with reduced rent.

Is earthquake damage covered by my commercial property policy?

No. Standard property policies in California exclude earthquake. You need a separate earthquake policy or an earthquake DIC policy. Deductibles are usually a percentage of the building value.

What is loss of rents coverage?

It replaces the rental income you lose when a covered loss, such as a fire, makes units uninhabitable. It keeps your cash flow going while the building is repaired, which is important because mortgage payments and taxes continue during the rebuild.

Whether you’re a brokerage, a property manager or an owner with a few buildings, I’ll review what you have, show you where the gaps are and shop the market for better terms. The review is free. Call me at (323) 999-6067 or contact me here to get started.