American Apartment Owner Association “Rent Insurance” Program Catches On

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The Insurent® Lease Guaranty Program has made its way on to ten major NYC rental websites. The program has helped thousands of renters who can’t otherwise qualify.

The program is underwritten and issued by Argonaut Insurance Company, an A-rated property and casualty insurance company. Instead of looking for an individual guarantor or co-signer, or having to pay a significantly larger security deposit or prepaid rent, a renter may pay a fee to utilize the Insurent Lease Guaranty to satisfy the landlord’s financial and credit requirements.

The program was created to assist landlords, condo/co-op owners, renters and brokers in closing residential leases. Its role as the “institutional mommy and daddy” allows leases to quickly and easily close to the benefit of all parties that otherwise would not close without Insurent.

According to a statement from the company, owners win because they don’t have any risk. Renters win because Insurent’s criteria into their program is easier than many landlords’, with many tenants qualifying for an apartment within 24 hours of applying.

This month, NYC rental review site Rentenna.com integrated a new search feature based on whether a landlord accepts the Insurent Lease Guaranty. 

“We at Rentenna support the Insurent Guarantor Program because there is no other service like it in the New York City area and it is desperately needed,” says a company spokesperson. “The strict criteria that landlords impose on renters such as making 40-45x their monthly rent is ludicrous and what they ask of your potential guarantor (usually a parent/sibling) is more paperwork than adopting a child. For a fee less than a broker, they will act as your institutional guarantor. Owners win because they don’t have any risk. If you default, Insurent pays. You win because Insurent’s criteria into their program is A LOT easier than a landlords and you can quickly get your dream apartment within 24 hours of applying.”

Insurent has quickly become a vital part of the NYC rental vernacular as it is the only guarantor service in the U.S., and is now accepted by over 150,000 apartments in NYC.

The guarantor service helps foreigners, students, young professionals, retirees, and wealthy individuals qualify for their NYC apartment rental. Insurent.com is now incorporated into Streeteasy.com, Rentenna.com, Urbanedgeny.com, Urbansherpa.com, Brickunderground.com, HowToRentinNYC.com, Trulia.com, RDNY.com, Calibernyc.com, and Rent.com.

The Insurent Lease Guaranty Program has been featured in the New York Times, The Real Deal, The New York Real Estate Journal, Real Estate Weekly, and Multi-Housing News.

With AAOA, landlords have resources at their fingertips. Check out our Landlord Forms page.

American Apartment Owners Association offers discounts on products and services for landlords related to your rental housing investment, including rental forms, tenant debt collection, tenant background checks, insurance and financing. Find out more at www.joinaaoa.org.

Insurent now included in most NYC Rental Websites as a "necessary rental resource"

Insurent Lease Guaranty Service is now incorporated by tens of NYC rental listing websites and is viewed as a necessary rental resource by sites like Rentenna, Urbanedgeny, Brickunderground,  Urbansherpa, HowToRentinNYC and Streeteasy.com.

From Rentenna:

"We at Rentenna support the Insurent Guarantor Program because there is no other service like it in the New York City area and it is desperately needed. The strict criteria that landlords impose on renters such as making 40x their monthly rent is ludicrous and what they ask of your potential guarantor (usually a parent/sibling) is more paperwork than adopting a child. For a fee less than a broker, they will act as your institutional guarantor. Owners win because they don’t have any risk.  If you default, Insurent pays. You win because Insurent’s criteria into their program is A LOT easier than a landlords and you can quickly get your dream apartment within 24 hours of applying."

From HowToRentinNYC.com:

"Insurent Lease Guaranty is the first and only institutional guarantor of residential leases. What is a guarantor? A guarantor is the cosigner on your lease when you do not meet the qualifications the landlord requires of you on your own. A standard requirement for NYC landlords is that you make 40-50 x the rent. So if you are renting a $2000 studio you need to make $90,000. It is also a requirement that you have "good" standing credit and a solid work history. Landlords want to know how YOU plan on paying the rent and if you can muster to fit into their requirements you will need a guarantor and most of the time that guarantor has to be in the tri-state area. This is because if you default and they have to come after your aunt Jim who cosigned your lease it is much easier to come after them legally if they are local. Also Uncle Jim as a guarantor is required by most landlords to make 80 x your rent so now the requirement becomes $180,000+ income which obviously in this economy is rare.

This is where Insurent Lease Guaranty comes in. They will act as your co-singer/guarantor if you make 27.5 x the rent and not 45. That same $2,000 studio now requires you only make $55,000 or if you have a roommate and your portion of the rent is $1500 that requirement becomes $41,250. They will accept you if you are a new hire, retired, or are from outside the United States. For retirees you have to show significant cash assets but you don't have to pay 6-12 months up front to the landlord now you just pay the Insurent fee and you can pay your rent monthly. If you do not make 27.5 x the rent and are in school Insurent will also guarantee your Uncle Jim, parents or whomever you can get to cosign the lease. Insurent's requirements are far less stringent and much less paperwork for them as well than that of the average NYC landlord."

From Brickunderground:

"Who can serve as a guarantor?

Most guarantors are parents, relatives, or friends. In many cases, landlords will require that your guarantor lives locally (within the Tri-state area). Some landlords may allow you to have a separate guarantor for each roommate signing the lease, but this isn’t always the case so if this is important to you, make sure to square away these details beforehand. If a personal contact isn’t an option, and your problem has more to do with lack of credit than bad credit, a service called Insurent will step in and act as a guarantor for a fee."