Renters

Renter’s FAQs

• What is the Insurent® Lease Guaranty Program?

  The Insurent® Lease Guaranty Program is the first and leading provider of institutional guarantees on residential leases accepted in over 775,000 apartments representing over 8,000 buildings in the markets of New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Illinois, Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC, Nevada, California and Florida. The Insurent® Lease Guarantor Service fulfills the need for a guarantor/co-signer when a landlord requires that a tenant have a guarantor or requires significant additional security or prepaid rent by the tenant in order to obtain an apartment.

• How can I benefit from the Insurent® Lease Guaranty program?

  The Insurent® Lease Guaranty Program will help you rent your chosen apartment without having to find an individual co-signer or lease guarantor acceptable to the landlord. It will also eliminate the need for significant additional security or prepaid rent to the landlord, and will quicken the approval process and shorten the time needed to obtain the apartment.

  The Insurent® Lease Guaranty may be used in any instance where a landlord will require the renter to have a co-signer or guarantor.

• Who are the various types of renters for who you issue guarantees?

  We issue guarantees for graduating college and professional school students entering the workforce; non U.S. employed persons relocating to the U.S.; U.S. and international students with Responsible Parties; self-employed persons; relocating persons; non-employed U.S. and non U.S. persons with significant cash liquid assets; retired creditworthy individuals; and U.S. Corporations.

• How much is the Guaranty fee under the Insurent® Lease Guaranty Program?

  On average, the guaranty fee for U.S. parties will approximate 70% - 90% of a month's rent for the one year lease guaranty. Average guaranty fees for non U.S. parties without U.S. based credit history will approximate 98% - 110% of a month’s rent for the one year lease guaranty. The guaranty fee is per lease, not per person. The renter pays the one-time fee prior to the execution of the lease agreement with the landlord. Guaranty fees for two year leases are approximately 85% higher than a one year lease guaranty, 18 month leases are approximately 39% higher, and 16 month leases are approximately 23% higher than a one year lease guaranty.

• How long does it take to process the application for the Insurent® Lease Guaranty?

  The online application takes approximately five minutes per person and the application is normally processed within 30 minutes with the Guaranty being issued within 24 hours. Applications with co-tenants must be completed by all renters for the application to be processed.

• What are the basic requirements for a renter to qualify for the Insurent® Lease Guaranty ?

  If US, a minimum annual income of 27.5x the monthly rent OR cash liquid assets/publicly held securities of a minimum of 50x the monthly rent, and decent to good credit.

  If non-US, a minimum annual income of 27.5x the monthly rent OR cash liquid assets/publicly held securities of a minimum of 50x the monthly rent, and no US credit history required.

  If an international student, a Responsible Party (normally a father or mother overseas) who has a minimum annual income of 50x the monthly rent in their home country OR cash liquid assets/publicly held securities of a minimum of 80x the monthly rent in their home country or elsewhere.

  If a US student or US person with income less than 27.5x the monthly rent, the renter must have decent to good credit and a Responsible Party (normally a father or mother) who has a minimum annual income of 50x the monthly rent OR cash liquid assets/publicly held securities of a minimum of 80x the monthly rent. The Responsible Party is just a signatory on our Agreement and have nothing to do with the lease.

• Who is the Insurer of the Insurent Lease Guaranty Program?

  The Insurent® Lease Guaranty Program is underwritten and issued by Argonaut Insurance Company, a property and casualty insurance company rated A (Excellent) by A.M. Best and licensed in New York and 48 other states. Argonaut Insurance Company is located at 225 West Washington, 6th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606, and is a subsidiary of Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd., a publicly held multi-billion insurance company.

• Can I use the Insurent® Lease Guaranty for any apartment?

  The Insurent® Lease Guaranty will only apply to apartments located in Insurent certified buildings or buildings that will accept the Insurent® Lease Guaranty. You can search the Insurent® database of certified buildings. Presently over 775,000 apartments representing over 8,000 buildings accept the Insurent® Lease Guaranty. Insurent is continuously expanding its base of certified buildings. In the event that a building you are interested in is not currently in our database, please notify Insurent® by email to landlord-info@insurent.com, and we will contact the building owner to attempt to signup the building. Signup normally takes one hour if the landlord wants to signup their building.

• Can I get pre-approved and fully approved for the Insurent® Lease Guaranty before I find an apartment?

  Absolutely.

  Sole Applicants or Applications with 2-4 Renters: Yes, you can apply for the Insurent® Lease Guaranty with no application fee and be initially qualified and receive will an Insurent® Qualification Certificate normally within 30 minutes. You can then forward all your documents to be fully approved and you can show the Insurent® Qualification Certificate to brokers and landlords in any of the 3,500 Insurent participating buildings to expedite the lease approval process. There is no application fee. Once you find your apartment, Insurent will just need the building address, monthly rent and lease dates to email you an Agreement and payment instructions before issuing a lease guaranty to the landlord.

• What do I do if the apartment I choose is not an Insurent certified building?

  If you want to rent an apartment in a building that has not yet been certified by Insurent®, the estimated time for certification of a building is one hour provided the owner/landlord wants to sign up their building. The Insurent® Lease Guaranty is presently available for market-rate and rent-stabilized apartments only, and it cannot be utilized for rent-controlled apartments.

• Do all landlords in the NYC metropolitan area accept the Insurent® Lease Guaranty?

  Hundreds of landlords owning/managing over 8,000 buildings representing over 775,000 apartments accept the Insurent® Lease Guaranty. New landlords and their respective buildings are being added on an ongoing basis. The NYC lease guarantor service began in New York but has expanded rapidly to other major markets including New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Illinois, Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC, Nevada, California and Florida.

• Who pays for the Insurent® Lease Guaranty?

  The renter(s) pays for the Insurent® Lease Guaranty. If there are roommates, you would normally divide the guaranty fee equally, but you can divide the guaranty fee any way you like.

• Are there any additional fees or charges under the Insurent® Lease Guaranty, other than the guaranty fee?

  No. The Insurent® Lease Guaranty does not require you to pay any additional fees.

• Can the Insurent® Lease Guaranty Program assist me if I am an international student or US student?

  Yes. We qualify an international student or U.S. student based on their father (or mother or some relative overseas or here) being a Responsible Party solely on our Agreement. Their father (or some relative overseas or here) would not be a signatory on the apartment lease. The father (or mother or some relative overseas or here) will just need to have a minimum annual income of 50x the monthly rent in their home country or a minimum of cash liquid assets/marketable securities held by them in their home country of 80x the monthly rent. We can also combine parents to meet the above tests. In the event that you fall into that category, please email us at renter-app@insurent.com so we can guide you through the application process.

• The website states that the annual income or collective annual income must equal a minimum of 27.5x the monthly rent. Can the Insurent® Lease Guaranty Program still assist me if my income is less than 27.5x the monthly rent?

  Yes. The Insurent Program can still assist you if you have a Responsible Party. A Responsible Party would be a person (normally a father, mother or relative) here or overseas (if you are relocating from outside the U.S.) who meets either of the following tests: (i) such person(s) has a minimum annual income (in their home country) of a minimum of 50x the monthly rent you are seeking or (ii) such person has cash liquid assets or marketable securities (in their home country) equal to a minimum of 80x the monthly rent that you are seeking. In the event that you are relocating from outside the U.S., the Responsible Party would be in your home country and the tests above relate to their income or cash liquid assets in their home country or elsewhere. In the event that you fall into that category, please email us at renter-app@insurent.com so we can guide you through the application process.

• Can the Insurent Program help me if I just have significant cash liquid assets or marketable securities?

  Yes. The Insurent Program issues guarantees for non employed U.S. and non U.S. persons with significant cash liquid assets or marketable securities (here or abroad). In such event, such liquid assets would need to be a minimum of 50x the monthly rent that you are seeking. In the event that you fall into that category, please email us at renter-app@insurent.com so we can guide you through the application process.

• Can the Insurent Program help me if I have terrible credit?

  Unfortunately not. The renter(s) must have decent to good credit to be issued an Insurent Guaranty for their lease.

• Can the Insurent Program help me if I have no U.S. based credit history?

  Yes. The Insurent Program issues guarantees for non U.S. persons with no U.S. based credit history. The Insurent Program can also issue guarantees for U.S. persons with no U.S. based credit history.

• When is the Insurent® Lease Guaranty issued to the Landlord?

  The Insurent® Lease Guaranty is issued to the landlord when you have executed the Tenant Participation Agreement and paid the guaranty fee. The landlord will not countersign the lease until the Insurent® Lease Guaranty has been issued to the landlord.

• What is the duration of the Insurent® Lease Guaranty?

  The Insurent® Lease Guaranty Policy covers one year leases (including one year leases plus a partial month), two year leases, 13 month – 15 month leases, 16 month leases and 18 month leases.

• Is the Insurent® Lease Guaranty offered for rent-stabilized apartments?

  Yes, the Insurent® Lease Guaranty Program is available for market-rate and rent-stabilized apartments, and not for rent-controlled apartments.

• Do my rights under my lease with a landlord change if I have an Insurent® Lease Guaranty?

  No. Your rights and obligations remain exactly the same, including your obligation to pay rent as required by your lease. In fact, you will be subject to legal action for the full recovery of any payments that the insurer makes to the landlord on your behalf.

• Does the use of the Insurent® Lease Guaranty mean that I cannot be evicted if I stop paying my rent or breach any other provision of the lease?

  In the event that you stop paying your rent or breach any other provision of the lease, the landlord will still take legal action that includes the commencement of an eviction proceeding against you. In the event that the insurer is required to make any payments to the landlord on your behalf, you will be subject to legal action for the full recovery of any such payments and your credit report will be negatively affected.

• What is my maximum liability under the Insurent® Lease Guaranty, in the event that I breach any of my lease obligations?

  You will be liable for any amounts paid on your behalf plus any legal fees incurred to collect those amounts from you.

• What happens if I have a co-tenant or roommate?

  If two or more roommates will sign a lease (i.e., act as signatories), and if one of the signatories intends to apply for an Insurent® Lease Guaranty, then all signatories must apply for a lease guaranty.

  Once Insurent receives all applications that are required from signatories, each application goes through the evaluation and approval process. Insurent® requires separate applications from signatories because all signatories are bound to the rights and obligations under the lease.

  A roommate who is not a signatory does not need to submit an application to Insurent.

• If I have a roommate who will also be signing the lease, do we both have to apply for a lease guaranty, and pay fees?

  Yes, you will both be individually responsible for payment of the Insurent® Guaranty fee. How you divide the fee payment for the Lease Guaranty between yourselves is at your discretion.

• If my spouse or roommate has bad credit, but mine is good, will we still qualify for the Insurent® Lease Guaranty?

  If your spouse or roommate is signing the lease, he or she must also complete an Insurent® application. Similar to when you apply for an apartment lease, if you file such a co-application, both of your applications will be reviewed. In any circumstance under which there is more than one signatory on a lease, credit problems for any of the applicants could affect the approval decision. In such cases, it is still possible to qualify with only the person having good credit being the signatory on the lease and the other person being solely an occupant. We may decide to put the occupant as a signatory on the Insurent Tenant Participation Agreement wherein both of you will be joint and severally liable.

• I will be applying with my roommate(s) for the Insurent Guaranty. Do you look at the combined annual income of all of us or do we each need to meet the minimum 27.5x the monthly rent level?

  We look at the combined annual income.

• Can I pay the Insurent® Lease Guaranty fee in installments like car insurance and life insurance, and when do I pay the Insurent Guaranty fee?

  No. The Guaranty fee is paid in full prior to the execution of the apartment lease. Payment must be made by cashier's check or bank check or money order. Cash is also acceptable.

• I am a non-U.S. person with no U.S. credit history. Can I still qualify for an Insurent® Lease Guaranty?

  Yes. Non-U.S. persons qualify for an Insurent® Lease Guaranty. Non-US persons qualify as long as they have a minimum annual income of 27.5x the monthly rent OR have a minimum of 50x the monthly rent in the bank/publicly held securities here or abroad.

  We also qualify international students with Responsible Parties. A Responsible Party would be a person in your home country (normally a father, mother or relative) who meets either of the following tests: (i) has a minimum annual income of approximately 50x the monthly rent you are seeking or (ii) has cash liquid assets or marketable securities equal to a minimum of approximately 80x the monthly rent that you are seeking. In the event that you are an international student or fall below the minimum 27.5x the monthly rent, please email us at renter-app@insurent.com so we can guide you through the application process.

• I am a college or professional school graduate with a job acceptance letter. However, I don’t start my job for sixty days. Can I still qualify for an Insurent® Lease Guaranty?

  Yes. The job acceptance letter is sufficient verification of your annual income for you to be eligible to qualify for an Insurent® Lease Guaranty.

• I am self-employed and my earnings vary significantly from year to year. Can I qualify for the Insurent® Lease Guaranty?

  Yes. Self-employed people are eligible to qualify for an Insurent® Lease Guaranty.

• I expect to receive a bonus in addition to my base salary. Will the prospective bonus be included in the consideration of my application by Insurent®?

  Total income including guaranteed bonuses are included in annual income. Expected bonuses are reviewed and may be given different weights, depending on your historical receipt of such bonuses, and the certainty of receiving such bonus.

• What markets are covered by the Insurent® Lease Guaranty Program?

  Currently, the Insurent® Lease Guaranty is applicable to apartments located in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Illinois, Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC, Nevada, California and Florida. We plan to expand the program to other major U.S. markets in the near future.

• What are Insurent®'s hours of operation?

  Insurent®'s hours of operation are Monday-Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (EST), and Saturday and Sunday from 12noon to 5:00 p.m. (EST) excluding holidays. We also process applications in the evening and on holidays and issue Qualification Certificates at those times.

• If I pay the guaranty fee and do not receive the apartment, do I receive a refund?

  Yes. You receive a full refund of the guaranty fee in one business day.