A person who rents out a home which he will not live in has to obtain a policy of landlords insurance. The reason is that a homeowners policy will not cover rental property, meaning both the destruction of it and the liabilities that could stem from it.

When the person rents out a home that he will share with the tenant(s) on a short-term basis (not more than 4 weeks), the person doing the renting needs, at the very least, to review the rental arrangement with his insurance broker, because the existing homeowners policy usually will not cover any type of rental situation. If the sharing will be for a greater duration, a policy of landlords insurance is a necessity.

There are three types of landlords insurance. The type that will protect a landlord from dog bite liability is a DP-3 policy. The other policies do not provide personal liability protection for the landlord. 

For more information about the necessity of obtaining landlords insurance, see Renting out a home? Get the right insurance.