You moved out, put a tenant in, and left the homeowners policy in place. It feels harmless. It isn't — a homeowners policy assumes you live there, and a rental claim can be denied on that basis alone.
Homeowners is written for an owner-occupied home. Once it's tenant-occupied, the risk changed — and so should the policy that's supposed to match it. Carriers can deny a claim, or non-renew you, when they learn it's a rental. It also doesn't cover the things landlords actually need.
A landlord policy (often a dwelling fire, or "DP") covers the structure; loss of rental income if a covered event makes it uninhabitable; and landlord liability if a tenant or guest is injured on the property. It's built around the fact that someone else lives there. See our landlord insurance page.
The tenant's belongings. That's their renters insurance — which you can require in the lease, and probably should. Your policy covers your building, not their stuff.
If the property is in an LLC, the policy usually needs to match the name on the deed. Owner name, occupancy, and use all have to line up, or a claim gets contested. See our article on rentals held in an LLC.
One caution: "I'll just tell them it's owner-occupied" is how claims get denied for misrepresentation. Insure it as what it is.
Tell us the address and the setup and we'll write it as a proper landlord policy — no denied-claim surprises.
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