Real Estate Investor / Flipper Insurance in Washington State

Real estate investors and house flippers in Washington operate a business model that combines the liability of property ownership with the hazards of construction — and each phase of a project carries distinct risks that require different insurance solutions. During acquisition, you own a property that may sit vacant for weeks or months. During renovation, you're running a construction site. During the holding or listing period, you have a finished property exposed to theft, vandalism, and weather damage. A standard homeowners policy or landlord policy doesn't cover any of these phases adequately because the property is being used for commercial investment purposes.

Builders risk insurance is the coverage most specific to flipping operations. This policy covers the property during renovation against fire, storm damage, theft of materials, and vandalism. Without it, a kitchen fire during a renovation could destroy $100,000 or more in improvements with no coverage to recover those costs. Washington's wet climate creates additional construction-phase risks — water intrusion during an open-roof period, mold growth from delayed construction timelines, and damage to stored materials from unexpected storms. Builders risk policies are typically written for the renovation period (3-12 months) and must be coordinated with your permanent property coverage to avoid gaps.

Contractor management is a major liability exposure for investors. If you hire subcontractors to perform renovation work and a worker is injured on your property, you may face liability under Washington's industrial insurance laws if the contractor lacks proper coverage. Washington holds property owners responsible for ensuring contractors are properly licensed, bonded, and insured. If an unlicensed or uninsured contractor causes damage to a neighboring property, injures a passerby, or performs defective work that later causes harm, the property owner can be dragged into the resulting lawsuit as the party who hired and directed the work.

Multi-property portfolios amplify every risk. Investors holding three, five, or ten properties simultaneously face aggregate liability that a single-property policy doesn't address. A visitor injured at one of your vacant properties, a fire at a property under renovation, and a contractor dispute at a third property can all happen in the same policy year. An umbrella policy becomes essential to provide liability limits above your individual property policies. Vacant properties are particularly problematic — most standard policies reduce or eliminate coverage for properties vacant more than 30-60 days, which is common timing for investors between acquisition and renovation start. Dedicated investor policies or vacant property endorsements are necessary to maintain coverage during these transition periods.