Golf cart insurance for renters

[mfpalmer]

I am considering renting my home do to accident which requires me living with someone else. I cannot find any company that will insure a renter using my golf cart. Do people still rent without use of a cart? Obviously it is fully furnished, as I have only brought my clothes and personal items to my temporary location. Thanks for any suggestions.

[Two Bills]

I googled 'Golf cart insurance for renters in The Villages.'
This was the first result.

https://thevillagesinsurance.com/golf-car/

[retiredguy123]

My suggestion is to not include the golf cart in your house rental. Let the tenant rent a cart from one of the cart rental companies. If the tenant is involved in an accident with injuries, you could be sued as the golf cart owner. Even if you buy a separate policy, the liability limit will probably not be high enough to cover an expensive lawsuit.

[Babubhat]

Absolutely not. The liability far exceeds the benefit. A headache you don’t want

[Rainger99]

I am considering renting my home do to accident which requires me living with someone else. I cannot find any company that will insure a renter using my golf cart. Do people still rent without use of a cart? Obviously it is fully furnished, as I have only brought my clothes and personal items to my temporary location. Thanks for any suggestions.
I was renting this summer and wanted to get a policy to insure the owner's golf cart and me. I was told that a renter cannot get an insurance policy for a golf cart but that the owner could get a policy and have it cover the renter. I got a quote of about $200 a year for the owner to take out the policy. Just add the price of the policy to the rental - it would be less than $20 a month extra. Be sure to talk to the insurance company and make sure that the policy covers both YOU and the RENTER.

[retiredguy123]

I was renting this summer and wanted to get a policy to insure the owner's golf cart and me. I was told that a renter cannot get an insurance policy for a golf cart but that the owner could get a policy and have it cover the renter. I got a quote of about $200 a year for the owner to take out the policy. Just add the price of the policy to the rental - it would be less than $20 a month extra. Be sure to talk to the insurance company and make sure that the policy covers both YOU and the RENTER.
How much liability coverage does that include for the owner? $10,000? If the renter injures someone, I would want at least $1 million in liability insurance.

[Babubhat]

Still better off not giving renter access. You won’t know if the policy covers it until the damage is done. What if the renter is drunk or has multiple motor vehicle infraction? Could be policy exclusions. Do not rely on insurance agent. You need to read Every word in the policy. When in doubt, don’t

[kathyspear]

For those who are not aware, there is a database somewhere (in the sky ha) that keeps track of all insurance claims. When you get insurance that database is checked for previous claims. If you have cart insurance that covers the renter and he/she has an accident, it will be connected to you and affect your rates from that point on. As others have pointed out, a claim could also be more than the policy's liability limit. Someone could come after your assets.

Someone posted on this forum once that he (allegedly) got around these problems by "selling" the cart to the renter for some nominal amount with the sales contract stating that the renter agrees to "sell" it back to the owner at the end of the rental period for the same amount. In this scenario (scheme?), the renter then went out and bought his own policy because he had become the owner. I have no idea if such a plan would actually protect one's assets. Might be worth talking to a lawyer.

kathy

[Papa_lecki]

Put the cart into an LLC, that’s only asset is the cart. Insure through the LLC.
Have the renter rent the golf cart from the LLC.

Now, this will be expensive, the LLC will need to be set up and there are annual filing requirements/fees for the LLC.

[Altavia]

For those who are not aware, there is a database somewhere (in the sky ha) that keeps track of all insurance claims. When you get insurance that database is checked for previous claims. If you have cart insurance that covers the renter and he/she has an accident, it will be connected to you and affect your rates from that point on. As others have pointed out, a claim could also be more than the policy's liability limit. Someone could come after your assets.

Someone posted on this forum once that he (allegedly) got around these problems by "selling" the cart to the renter for some nominal amount with the sales contract stating that the renter agrees to "sell" it back to the owner at the end of the rental period for the same amount. In this scenario (scheme?), the renter then went out and bought his own policy because he had become the owner. I have no idea if such a plan would actually protect one's assets. Might be worth talking to a lawyer.

kathy

Very interesting solution.

LesixNexis is the service many companies use. Worthwhile checking your report periodically, I've been surprised to see hits I knew nothing about.


Order Your Report Online - LexisNexis Risk Solutions Consumer Disclosure (https://consumer.risk.lexisnexis.com/request)

[charlieo1126@gmail.com]

I don’t have a golf cart , but before Covid I always rented my homes here in winter .I usually had people that came back at least twice , I never had a problem renting without cart , people had no problem renting there own .I lived many years ago at Arnold Palmers Bay Hill Country Club I watched a law suit end there over use of a cart for $1.2 million, I’ve heard of other stories but only second hand information , I would never rent out my personal cart , but that’ll never be a problem because I’ll never own one lol

[retiredguy123]

Put the cart into an LLC, that’s only asset is the cart. Insure through the LLC.
Have the renter rent the golf cart from the LLC.

Now, this will be expensive, the LLC will need to be set up and there are annual filing requirements/fees for the LLC.
Maybe. But, an LLC, limited liability company (not a corporation), will not always ensure liability protection to the owner who sets one up. The owner will often be sued anyway because an LLC is not much more than a name registration with the state. If that would work, why not put your house, your car, and other assets into an LLC, and avoid all personal lawsuits?

[Papa_lecki]

Maybe. But, an LLC, limited liability company (not a corporation), will not always ensure liability protection to the owner who sets one up. The owner will often be sued anyway because an LLC is not much more than a name registration with the state. If that would work, why not put your house, your car, and other assets into an LLC, and avoid all personal lawsuits?

Honestly, if you’re renting your home, the house should be in a corporation.
Some people do put other assets into an LLC. For most people, the cost (setting up the corporation, annual filing requirements) don’t make sense.
Also, you can get a liability policy for 7 figures that would protect most people (hint, most people are getting sued).
This is a specific case, of leasing a golf cart, where you can maybe $10k in liability coverage.

[retiredguy123]

Honestly, if you’re renting your home, the house should be in a corporation.
Some people do put other assets into an LLC. For most people, the cost (setting up the corporation, annual filing requirements) don’t make sense.
Also, you can get a liability policy for 7 figures that would protect most people (hint, most people are getting sued).
This is a specific case, of leasing a golf cart, where you can maybe $10k in liability coverage.
To clarify, LLC stands for limited liability "company". It is not a corporation. You can set up an LLC with a single page form and a fee sent to the state, and they will register the name. You may need to pay an annual fee, but you don't need to do much else for annual reporting, and you only need to provide an owner's name and address. It is a good idea to register rental houses as an LLC, but it doesn't provide as much protection against lawsuits as a corporation would. Corporations require much more paperwork, including named officers, articles of incorporation, tax returns, and annual reports. But, even with a corporation, you do not have complete protection from being sued personally.

A liability policy for $10,000 would not give me any peace of mind. If someone is injured in a golf cart accident, $10,000 will not be of much value in a lawsuit, especially if you have substantial assets.

[kkingston57]

I would check with your insurance agent and see if other person using your cart is an "insured" under your golf cart policy. Also determine what your liabiliity limits are. We also have an umbrella policy which protects us in the event of a bad accident.

In this area, with the age of most residents, injured persons are more likely to have worse injuries due to fact that we do not mend as easy as a younger person.

3 years ago, we rented our house out and we asked realtor if having a golf cart would help us to rent out. She suggested that we rent without the cart and have the renter make own arrangements to have a cart.

Was in the insurance biz for over 40 years.

[giorgio1948]

I am considering renting my home do to accident which requires me living with someone else. I cannot find any company that will insure a renter using my golf cart. Do people still rent without use of a cart? Obviously it is fully furnished, as I have only brought my clothes and personal items to my temporary location. Thanks for any suggestions.

Auto Club Insurance Company of Florida - ACICF (http://www.autoclubfl.com)

[Babubhat]

Very interesting solution.

LesixNexis is the service many companies use. Worthwhile checking your report periodically, I've been surprised to see hits I knew nothing about.


Order Your Report Online - LexisNexis Risk Solutions Consumer Disclosure (https://consumer.risk.lexisnexis.com/request)

Won’t stop you from being sued. Don’t do it. Legal issues are rarely black and white. Pay for a legal opinion if you must go forward