Real Estate Tenant Insurance Checklist: Commercial and Residential Requirements

Tenant insurance compliance is one of the most consistently neglected areas of property risk management. Leases specify insurance requirements. Tenants agree to them at signing. Then, over the life of the lease, policies lapse, coverage changes, and no one is tracking it - until a tenant's operations cause an incident and the question becomes whether their coverage was still in force.

Here's what to require, what to verify, and how to handle non-compliant tenants.

Commercial Tenant Insurance: Standard Requirements

Commercial leases typically require tenants to carry insurance throughout the lease term. What you include in your requirements depends on your lease language, but a standard commercial tenant insurance exhibit includes:

Commercial General Liability

• Per occurrence: $1M minimum, $2M for higher-occupancy or higher-risk tenants
• General aggregate: $2M minimum
• Additional insured: Landlord and property management company named on the policy by endorsement
• Primary and non-contributory: The tenant's policy responds first before the landlord's
• Waiver of subrogation: Tenant's GL insurer waives right to pursue landlord

Workers' Compensation / Employer's Liability

• Statutory WC if tenant has employees
• Employer's liability: $500K minimum
• Waiver of subrogation

Commercial Auto

• Required if tenant operates vehicles at or from the premises
• $1M combined single limit

Umbrella / Excess

• Not always required for standard commercial tenants
• Consider requiring $5M+ for large tenants, those with high foot traffic, or tenants with significant inventory

Business Income / Business Interruption

• Some leases require this to protect the tenant's ability to pay rent during a covered disruption
• Property coverage on tenant improvements and betterments (TIBs)

Special Coverage by Tenant Type

• Food service tenants: Liquor liability if applicable
• Medical/dental tenants: Professional liability
• Technology companies: Cyber liability
• Any tenant with licensed professionals: E&O

Commercial Tenant COI Checklist

• Coverage types present per lease requirements
• GL per occurrence and aggregate limits meet lease minimums
• Named insured matches the legal entity that signed the lease
• Landlord named as additional insured (verify endorsement or DOO language)
• Property management company named as AI if required by your management agreement
• Primary and non-contributory confirmed
• Waiver of subrogation on GL and WC
• Workers' comp present if tenant has employees
• Policy effective date on or before lease commencement
• Expiration date noted and renewal tracking initiated

Residential Tenant Insurance: Standard Requirements

Residential renters insurance requirements are more common than they used to be, particularly in professionally managed multifamily, mixed-use, and higher-end residential portfolios.

Standard residential lease requirements:

Renters Insurance / Tenant's Liability

• Personal liability: $100,000 minimum is the common starting point; $300,000 is increasingly standard in higher-end properties
• Named insured matches the lease signer(s)
• Landlord listed as interested party (for notification) or additional insured (for coverage rights)
• Coverage for personal property (fire, theft, water damage) - primarily protects the tenant but reduces their incentive to file claims against the landlord

What residential renters insurance does NOT typically include:

• The full commercial GL coverage required in commercial leases
• Business liability (relevant if a tenant runs a home business)

Renters Insurance COI Checklist

• Liability coverage meets your minimum requirement
• Named insured matches lease signatories
• Policy not expired
• Landlord listed as interested party or AI if your lease requires it

Note: Many renters insurance policies can't produce an ACORD 25 - the standard commercial COI form. Residential tenants may need to provide a declarations page or a certificate of insurance generated in their carrier's format. Know what documentation format to accept.

Additional Insured and Waiver of Subrogation for Landlords

Additional Insured: When you're listed as AI on a tenant's GL policy, the tenant's insurer defends you if you're named in a claim involving the tenant's operations. For commercial tenants, this is standard and important. If a visitor to the tenant's space is injured and sues both the tenant and the landlord, the tenant's insurer participates in your defense.

Waiver of Subrogation: If the tenant's insurer pays a claim (say, for a water damage event caused by a tenant's negligence), the waiver prevents the insurer from turning around and suing you - even if the carrier believes a condition on the property contributed to the loss.

Both should be standard in commercial lease requirements. Get them in the lease language and verify them on the COI.

Non-Compliant Tenant Response

When a commercial tenant submits a non-compliant COI (or none at all):

1. Send a written deficiency notice specifying the gap
2. Reference the lease provision that requires the coverage
3. Give a cure timeline consistent with the urgency (7-14 days for initial non-compliance)
4. For ongoing non-compliance, consult with counsel about whether it constitutes a lease default and what remedies are available

For residential tenants: depending on your market and lease language, ongoing failure to maintain required renters insurance may be a curable lease default. Know your lease terms and local landlord-tenant law before escalating.

Bramble tracks tenant COI compliance across portfolios, sending automated renewal requests and flagging expirations before they become gaps. See how it works.