Obie Review (2026): Costs, Fees and Who It’s For

Who Obie insurance suits, and who it doesn’t

Obie is aimed at real estate investors, and it shows in the product list: long-term rentals, short-term rentals, fix-and-flips, buy-renovate-rent-refinance projects and portfolios. It fits:

• Landlords closing on a purchase who need a lender-compliant declarations page quickly.
• Short-term rental hosts who need guest liability and amenity coverage for pools and hot tubs.
• Investors with five or more doors who want one master policy instead of a stack of separate ones.
• Owners of vacant or renovation properties.

It’s a poorer fit if you want to talk to an agent by phone whenever you have a question (support is mostly email), if you want a policy from an admitted carrier and can’t confirm that on your quote, or if you value claims service above price.

How Obie works as a broker

Obie isn’t the insurer. It runs the quote, places the policy with a partner carrier, and services it. Obie names Markel and MSI among those partners. That has two practical effects. Your policy can come from different carriers depending on the property and state, and claims are handled by the carrier or its claims administrator rather than by Obie.

Obie says it’s licensed in all 50 states and DC. Third-party reviews report that some of its policies are non-admitted in some states. A non-admitted (surplus lines) policy can cover risks that standard insurers decline, but its rates and forms aren’t approved by your state regulator in the usual way, and claims usually aren’t protected by the state guaranty fund if the insurer fails. Your quote should say which kind you’re buying. If it doesn’t, ask.

What Obie policies cover

This is general. The declarations page and policy form you receive are what counts.

Long-term rentals (DP-3)

The landlord policy covers the dwelling, other structures such as a detached garage or fence, loss of rent while a covered loss is repaired, and liability if someone is hurt and you’re responsible. A DP-3 form usually covers the dwelling on an open-peril basis, meaning anything not excluded, though contents and other structures may be named-peril. Confirm on your form.

Short-term rentals

Obie’s short-term policy adds commercial liability limits for guests, which Obie says are often $1 million or more, and amenity coverage for pools and hot tubs. It also addresses guest-specific risks like theft and amenity-related injuries. A long-term policy on a home you rent nightly may not pay a claim, so be honest about how you rent.

Vacant, renovation and builder’s risk

For fix-and-flips and heavy rehabs, Obie writes vacant property and builder’s risk cover. Obie notes these policies can satisfy hard-money lenders. Reviewers complain about renovation limits and cancellation fees, so read what the policy says about the scope of work allowed and what it costs to cancel once you rent the place.

Multifamily, apartments and condos

Obie writes 2-4 unit properties, apartment buildings with five or more units, and condo units. For a condo, your policy usually covers the interior and your liability, while the association’s master policy covers the building. Check the association’s documents to see where one ends and the other starts.

Master policy for portfolios

Obie describes its master policy as best for portfolios of five or more units. It puts properties on one bill with one renewal date and blanket coverage limits.

What it doesn’t cover

Expect the usual landlord policy exclusions: normal wear and tear, slow neglect, and your tenant’s belongings. Flood and earthquake are typically excluded from standard landlord forms and bought separately. Ask your tenants to carry renters insurance.

How Obie quotes work

You start with the property address. Obie’s data engine fills in the details from public records, satellite imagery and permit databases, which Obie says covers over 1,000 data points, so you don’t need to know the year the roof was replaced or the garage’s square footage. You confirm or correct what it found, pick coverage options, and get what Obie calls a bindable quote in under five minutes. The application is online, and agents help by email and phone.

Check the pre-filled data before you buy. If the roof age or square footage is wrong, the price is wrong too, and an error can cause trouble at claim time.

What drives the price

Obie publishes no prices, and we don’t print estimates as offers. Your premium depends on location and weather exposure, rebuild cost, roof age and condition, deductible, liability limit, claims history and whether the property is long-term, short-term or vacant. As a benchmark, landlord (DP-3) policies run about 15% to 25% more than a homeowners policy on the same house. A quote is the only real number.

Insuring 1, 5 or 20 units through Obie

One rental. A single DP-3 quote. Compare it with two others on identical limits, deductible and liability, and check the carrier name on each.

Five units. This is where Obie’s master policy starts, by its own description. Get a master policy quote and separate per-property quotes, then compare totals and deductibles. A blanket limit can be useful, but a single per-occurrence deductible across several properties works differently from five separate ones.

Twenty units. A master policy saves real admin time at this size: one renewal, one bill, one set of documents for your lenders. Ask how adding or selling a property mid-term is handled and how each lender gets its own mortgagee wording.

Is Obie insurance worth it

Getting an Obie quote costs nothing and takes minutes, so it’s worth one for most landlords. Whether to buy depends on the property and on what the quote says about the carrier.

For a single long-term rental, compare Obie with two other quotes on matching limits. If the Obie policy is admitted in your state and the price is close, it’s a fair choice. If it’s non-admitted, weigh the lack of guaranty fund protection against the savings.

For a short-term rental, Obie’s dedicated policy with guest liability and amenity cover is a real advantage over a standard landlord form that may exclude nightly renting.

For five or more doors, the master policy is Obie’s strongest feature. One renewal and one bill is worth a lot of evenings if you’re juggling separate policies on every house.

For a renovation, read the scope-of-work limits and the cancellation terms before you bind. Those are the two things reviewers say surprised them.

Ways to lower any landlord insurance quote

• Raise the deductible to an amount you could pay from reserves.
• Correct the pre-filled data, especially roof age, if the real roof is newer.
• Fix hazards before you quote: railings, steps, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
• Insure to rebuild cost, not purchase price.
• Require renters insurance from tenants.

Claims and service, as reported

Trustpilot reviews show three recurring complaints: slow claims run through third-party claims administrators, non-renewal after a claim, and renovation limits or cancellation fees that customers say weren’t explained up front. Support is mainly by email, and Obie isn’t BBB accredited.

Protect yourself the same way with any insurer: take dated photos at every turnover, keep maintenance and repair receipts, and report losses promptly in writing.

Alternatives to consider

• Steadily also quotes online in all 50 states and writes long-term, short-term, vacant and renovation policies.
• A local independent agent can compare admitted carriers for you and may be easier to reach by phone.
• Large national insurers such as State Farm, Allstate and Farmers sell landlord policies through agents.
• The insurer on your own home may write your rental and offer a multi-policy discount.