Life Lease Insurance

A life lease isn't the same as a rental. Your insurance shouldn't be either.

Life lease communities offer many of the benefits of home ownership without actually owning the property in the traditional sense.

That difference matters when it comes to insurance.

A standard tenant or condo insurance policy may not provide all of the coverage you need as a life lease resident. Depending on your life lease agreement and the property itself, you may need specific coverage or endorsements to properly protect your belongings, your liability and your financial responsibility.

Garriock Insurance can help you understand what your life lease agreement means for your insurance and make sure your coverage fits your situation.

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Improvements and Betterments

Have you made changes to your unit? Flooring, cabinets, fixtures and other improvements may need to be considered when determining your coverage.

Your Belongings

Your furniture, clothing, electronics and other personal belongings can be protected against covered losses, subject to the terms and limits of your policy.

Liability

Personal liability coverage can help protect you if someone is injured in your unit or you’re responsible for damage to someone else’s property.

 

Loss Assessments & Deductibles

Depending on your life lease arrangement, you may have financial responsibility for certain assessments or portions of a building loss. Appropriate coverage can help protect you against certain covered assessments and deductibles.

Coverage varies by life lease agreement and policy. Your Garriock broker can review your situation and explain what coverage may be appropriate.

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I live in a life lease. Does my insurance know that?

This is an important question to ask.

When you contact an insurance broker, it’s easy to simply say you need contents insurance or tenant insurance. But if you live in a life lease, that distinction matters.

Your life lease agreement can create responsibilities that aren’t found in a standard rental arrangement. There may also be shared or collectively owned property, building deductibles, loss assessments, improvements or other obligations that need to be considered when arranging your insurance.

The best place to start is simple: tell your broker, “I live in a life lease.”

From there, we can help you understand what coverage you need.

Your Life Lease Agreement Matters.

With a standard rental, it’s relatively easy to think of the relationship as:

Landlord → building
Tenant → belongings and liability

Life leases can be more complicated.

Your agreement may give you responsibilities that fall somewhere between traditional renting and owning a home or condo. It may also define how building repairs, deductibles, assessments and collectively owned property are handled.

That’s why we don’t want to simply sell you a standard tenant policy.

We want to understand your life lease.

If you have a copy of your life lease agreement, bring it with you. A Garriock broker can help identify the insurance considerations that may apply to your situation.

 

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Already Have Insurance?

You may already have a tenant, condo or contents policy. That doesn’t necessarily mean you’re properly covered for your life lease.

If you’ve never told your broker that you live in a life lease, it’s worth having the conversation.

Bring your life lease agreement and your current policy to Garriock. We’ll help you understand how the two fit together and whether additional coverage or endorsements may be appropriate.

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FAQ: Life Lease Insurance

Not necessarily. Life lease arrangements can create responsibilities that are different from those of a traditional tenant. Your insurance may need specific coverage or endorsements based on the terms of your life lease agreement.

Your life lease agreement may make you responsible for certain things that aren’t typically the responsibility of a standard tenant. Telling your broker you’re in a life lease gives them the information they need to assess your coverage properly.

It may not be. Contents coverage protects your personal belongings, but a life lease agreement can involve other responsibilities, such as liability, improvements and betterments, loss assessments or portions of building deductibles.

It’s worth having your complete situation reviewed rather than assuming a standard contents policy covers everything.

Improvements and betterments are changes or upgrades made to a unit that go beyond its original condition. Depending on your life lease arrangement, you may have a financial interest or responsibility for improvements you’ve made, which can make appropriate coverage important.

A loss assessment is an amount that may be charged to residents or owners following certain losses or expenses involving collectively owned property or a building. Whether you could be responsible for an assessment, and whether your insurance can respond, depends on your agreement and policy.

The building itself may be insured through the organization or corporation responsible for the property. However, your life lease agreement may make you responsible for certain costs associated with damage to the building. Your own insurance can provide coverage for certain responsibilities depending on your policy.

Yes, a life lease insurance policy can provide coverage for your personal belongings, subject to the terms, limits and exclusions of the policy.

That’s a good reason to review it. If your insurer has not been told that you live in a life lease, your current policy may not reflect the responsibilities outlined in your life lease agreement.

If possible, bring a copy of your life lease agreement and information about any improvements you’ve made to your unit. If you already have insurance, bring your current policy as well. This gives your broker a better picture of your situation.