Is this the time to jump into the commercial real estate market and purchase an apartment building in Greater Cleveland?  While real estate prices in Cleveland remain fairly affordable there are signs that 2025 may see price increases faster than the national average. For investors many markets have priced themselves out of range for new owners so along with Cleveland’s lower than national average price points and its strong livability score this might make 2025 the time to jump in.

If you are new to insuring Apartments in Greater Cleveland you need a local Independent Insurance agent to help you build a solid property and liability insurance program.

A well put together insurance program consists of several components just like your building. The insurance policy should include property insurance, general liability insurance, equipment breakdown/boiler and machinery insurance, crime insurance, and auto insurance.

Property Insurance for your apartment building will protect the physical structure and items used to service the building and appliances from the following: fire, lightning, wind storm, vandalism, burst water pipe or supply line, and even damage if struck by a vehicle or aircraft.

An additional component of property insurance is loss of income/or loss of rents. Business income insurance provides the insured with lost income if the building becomes uninhabitable because of an insured loss.

General Liability Insurance protects you, the building owner from claims (actual or alleged) of bodily injury or property damage to others on the premise. “Others” is as varied as, tenants, visitors of the owner or tenants and contractors. The General Liability section also provides medical payments to others for bodily injury that occurs on your premise regardless of negligence.

Equipment Breakdown Insurance covers the cost to repair or replace damaged equipment, loss of income and additional expenses incurred during the period of restoration. Equipment typically covered includes mechanical items such as pumps and motors and electrical items such as transformers, electrical panels and cables, air conditioners and boilers.

Crime insurance can cover the dishonesty of an employee who is stealing or misappropriating rent payments. Or if rent is still paid in cash and the cash is stolen from the office or your messenger is robbed on the way to the bank.

Auto Insurance is needed even if the entity that owns the apartment building does not own a car. If an employee or officer of the business is operating their vehicle for business related to the Apartment building (a run to the hardware store, bank or office supply store) and you are in an accident the entity can be enjoined in a lawsuit.

This article could be entitled Apartment Owners Insurance 101, because this list is not all inclusive. A second article would include such topics as cyber liability, ordinance or law coverage, tenant discrimination, employment practices liability and workers’ compensation (in Ohio typically purchased thru the State).

A solid insurance program requires a Trusted Choice agent like the Team at Richey-Barrett Insurance. So, contact us before you purchase or renew the insurance for your investment property.