The DP3 rental home insurance policy is considered the best insurance policy for rental properties in the United States. It is often referred to as the Dwelling Fire Form 3 or DP-3 insurance. It provides excellent coverage for Landlords who are looking to get excellent insurance for their rental properties.
The DP 3 insurance is best suited for rental properties or non-owner occupied homes.
In the past, the DP-3 was used to insure owner-occupied homes. In more recent years, however, it’s primarily used to insure rental properties. Policies like the HO3 and the HO5 are now the primary policies for insuring owner-occupied homes.
Although homeowners are not restricted from insuring owner-occupied homes with a DP-3 insurance policy, it is discouraged. Plus, most homeowners get more coverage at less cost by insurance through traditional HO policies.
Dwelling fire insurance policies come in two different policy categories; named peril policies and open peril policies. The DP 1 and DP 2 are named peril policies, while the DP 3 is an open peril policy.
Named peril insurance policies are policies that specifically list the perils that are insured under the policy.
Open peril policies, on the other hand, are insurance policies that cover all possible perils, with the exception of a small list of perils excluded from the policy.
The DP-3 rental property policy insures all perils except for those specifically excluded from the policy. The following perils are excluded from standard DP-3 insurance coverage:
Although the list above is the default exclusion list for the DP3, there are some minor clarifications that need to be made.
First, most water damage is excluded, but some companies may include a little for no additional premium. Sudden & Accidental Water Damage is covered by some DP-3 rental property insurance policies. Many of the other types of water damage, like Water Backup, may be endorsed onto the policy for an additional premium depending on the company offering the insurance.
Second, some coverage for Mold may be provided depending on the insurance company offering the DP-3 insurance policy.
Insurance policies are either replacement cost or actual cash value. Actual cash value (ACV) policies typically don’t insure dwellings in full because depreciation is deducted from the amount of money you can receive for a claim. If you home is old, then depreciation on the materials can prevent you from receiving thousands of dollars on your claim.
Fortunately, DP 3 insurance is for replacement cost. This means regardless how old your home is, your dwelling will be repaired in full without any costs out of pocket besides your home insurance deductible, as long as the damage is caused by a covered peril and you have sufficient dwelling coverage to cover the whole claim. Replacement cost is much better than ACV, and the DP3 has this type of protection.
The standard DP3 policy in the United States comes with a similar package offered by home owner (HO) insurance policies. A typical home insurance company in the United States will include the following five sections of coverage:
- Dwelling
- Other Structures
- Personal Property
- Loss of Use
- Liability
- Medical Payments
The DP3 policy is very similar to the standard home insurance package, with a few exceptions. First, the similarities: Dwelling, Other Structures, Liability, and Medical Payments coverage in the DP3 insurance policy are very similar to the way this is insured in a similar HO policy. The DP3 still has to insure the entire home and out-buildings, and still provides general liability coverage, so it makes sense that these areas are similar to home insurance policies.
Personal Property is an area where the DP-3 differs from a similar home insurance policy. Due to the fact that the policy is used primarily for rental homes and non-owner occupied dwellings, the amount of personal property attached to DP policies is much less. For example, many DP 3 insurance policies only have enough personal property coverage to insure major appliances like refrigerators, washing machines, etc.
One of the biggest differences between dwelling fire insurance and home insurance is Loss of Use and Loss of Rents. Loss of Use insurance is used primarily in home insurance policies, not rental property insurance policies. Loss of Use coverage is used to cover additional expenses a homeowner may pay while her home is being repaired. Due to the fact that most DP3 insurance policies are non-owner occupied, Loss of Use coverage is not relevant.
Loss of Rents, on the other hand, is an important part of many DP3 policies. Loss of Rents coverage is meant to provide the insured (owner of the policy) with continuing rental income while the home is being repaired due to damage from a covered peril.
Without Loss of Rents coverage, if your rental property gets damaged and your renters have to move out while the home gets repaired, you will never collect the rent from those months. Loss of Rents prevents this from happening, by continuing to pay you, the landlord, your rental income while the home is repaired.
Overall, the DP 3 policy is an excellent dwelling fire insurance policy and is one of the best non-owner occupied insurance policies on the market today.
