Montgomery County real estate investors come in every size: the Potomac homeowner who kept the old townhouse in Gaithersburg as a rental, the couple with four single-family houses in Silver Spring and Wheaton, the partnership that owns a 24-unit garden apartment building in Germantown, and the flipper working through a pre-1978 colonial in Rockville on a hard-money loan. Each property needs a different policy form, and most investors end up with a patchwork: homeowners policies never endorsed for rental use, landlord policies from three carriers, and an umbrella that does not list half the LLCs.
Terrapin has insured Maryland rental property since 2011, and we look at an investor’s holdings as a portfolio rather than one policy at a time: the right form for each property, the right named insureds for each entity, a single umbrella that actually sits over everything, and a plan for the properties standard carriers will not take. Start with the landlord insurance basics, go straight to a quote, or call 240-243-0042.
Get a Maryland real estate investor insurance quote — usually within a day. Call 240-243-0042 or request a business insurance quote online.
Single-family rentals: the DP-3 dwelling policy through Steadily and Obie
A house you rent out should not be on a homeowners policy. Homeowners forms assume you live there, and carriers can deny claims when they discover a tenant in residence. The correct form for a one- to four-unit rental is a dwelling fire policy, and the DP-3 is the broadest version: open-perils coverage on the building, loss of rental income when a covered loss makes the property unlivable, and premises liability for injuries to tenants and guests.
For investors with a handful of houses in Silver Spring, Gaithersburg, Wheaton or Germantown, Steadily and Obie are our go-to markets. Both are built for rental property, quote quickly online, and write multiple properties for the same owner under one account, which makes adding the next acquisition straightforward. Our Maryland landlord insurance page and Montgomery County landlord guide cover the DP-3 in more detail.
Two- to four-unit buildings and small apartment buildings: when you need a commercial package
Duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes still fit on a DP-3 with most carriers, though underwriters look more closely at the age of the building and the condition of the electrical, plumbing and roof. Once you pass four units, you are in commercial territory.
A small apartment building in Germantown, Rockville or Silver Spring is written on a commercial package policy: commercial property for the building, business income for lost rents, and general liability for the common areas, parking lot, laundry room and tenant units. Erie and Travelers both write habitational property in Maryland for well-maintained buildings, and MGT handles smaller habitational classes. Underwriters will ask about updates to major systems, fire protection, management and the building’s claims history. Keeping those records current is the most useful thing an apartment owner can do before a renewal.
Fix-and-flip, builders risk and vacant property insurance
A house under renovation is not a rental and not a home, and neither a DP-3 nor a homeowners policy is designed for it. Vacancy, open walls, contractors on site and materials stored inside all change the risk.
- Builders risk. For a gut renovation or significant rehab, a builders risk policy covers the structure and materials during construction, with terms matched to the project. US Assure is our primary builders risk market and writes renovations as well as ground-up construction.
- Vacant property. If a house will sit empty before work begins or between the flip and the sale, a vacant dwelling policy fills the gap; vandalism and water damage are the losses most often denied under standard forms after a vacancy period.
- Contractors on site. Confirm your general contractor carries GL and workers comp and collect certificates. If you hire trades directly, the exposure shifts to you; see our contractors insurance page.
- Lender requirements. Hard-money lenders typically require builders risk naming them as mortgagee. Send us the lender’s requirements before closing.
Short-term rentals, LLC ownership and getting the named insured right
Short-term rentals. A property rented by the night on Airbnb or VRBO is a different exposure from a twelve-month lease, and many landlord policies exclude it. Steadily and Obie both offer short-term rental coverage that accounts for higher turnover and guest liability. Check local rules too; Montgomery County and the municipalities regulate short-term rentals.
LLC ownership. Many investors hold each property in its own LLC. The insurance has to match the deed. If the LLC owns the building, the LLC must be the named insured, with you and other members listed as additional insureds where the carrier allows. A policy in your personal name on an LLC-owned property is a claim denial waiting to happen, and a transfer into an LLC after the policy is written must be reported immediately. Property managers and lenders usually need to be listed as well. We audit named insureds and mortgagees across the whole portfolio when we take over an account, because this is the most common error we find.
Mixed-use and retail buildings: commercial GL and lessor’s risk
Investors who buy a storefront with apartments above in downtown Silver Spring or along Rockville Pike pick up a different liability picture. Your tenants are now businesses with customers walking in off the sidewalk, and your exposure as landlord is the building, the common areas and the sidewalk out front, not the tenant’s operations.
This is written as lessor’s risk only (LRO) coverage, a general liability form for owners who lease space to others. Underwriters care about the type of tenants (a dry cleaner, a restaurant and a yoga studio each carry different risk to the building), fire protection, and whether every lease requires the tenant to carry its own GL and name you as additional insured. Collecting tenant certificates at every lease signing is what keeps a customer’s slip-and-fall inside the tenant’s space from becoming your claim. Erie, Travelers and MGT all write LRO for well-tenanted Montgomery County buildings.
Umbrella coverage across a portfolio and Maryland rental compliance
- Umbrella insurance. A tenant injury or a fire that spreads to a neighbor can produce a judgment larger than the liability limit on any single landlord policy. An umbrella adds limits above all of your underlying policies at once. For an individual with a few rentals, a personal umbrella that schedules each rental location usually works. Once properties are in LLCs or you own a commercial building, a commercial umbrella is the correct form. Every entity and property must be listed; an umbrella that names only you personally does not protect the LLC that owns the building.
- Rental licensing. Montgomery County Code Chapter 29 requires rental housing licenses, administered by the Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA). Rockville, Gaithersburg and Takoma Park license rentals through their own programs.
- Lead paint. Pre-1978 rental properties in Maryland must be registered with the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE). Carriers ask about lead compliance on older housing, and some exclude lead liability entirely, so tell us the year built up front.
Hard-to-place properties: E&S markets through wholesale partners
Not every investment property fits a standard carrier. A 1920s rowhouse with knob-and-tube wiring, a building vacant for a year, a property with two water claims in three years, or a portfolio with a prior cancellation can all be declined by admitted carriers like Erie or Travelers. That does not mean the property is uninsurable.
Terrapin accesses excess and surplus lines markets through wholesale partners including FirstChoice, RT Specialty, AmWins, CRC and Burns & Wilcox. Surplus lines carriers are not licensed in Maryland the way admitted carriers are and are not backed by the state guaranty fund, but they can write risks and price them in ways admitted carriers cannot. Terms are often narrower and premiums higher, so we usually use E&S as a bridge: insure the property now, fix what underwriters flagged, and move back to an admitted carrier at renewal. See admitted vs. non-admitted insurance in Maryland.
How to get a Maryland real estate investor insurance quote from Terrapin
- Send us the portfolio. Use the quote form or call 240-243-0042 with a list of properties: address, year built, number of units, how each is titled (personal name or LLC), occupancy (long-term, short-term, vacant or under renovation), mortgage holders and any claims in the last five years.
- We match each property to the right form and carrier. DP-3s through Steadily or Obie, commercial packages through Erie, Travelers or MGT, builders risk through US Assure, E&S through our wholesale partners where needed, and one umbrella over all of it.
- Bind, fix the paperwork and plan for the next acquisition. We correct named insureds and mortgagee clauses, issue evidence of insurance for lenders and licensing, and set the account up so your next closing needs one phone call.
Ready to get covered? Call 240-243-0042 or request a business insurance quote online. Our office is at 1300 Piccard Dr. #201, Rockville, MD 20850.