Let me give you a number that should make you uncomfortable.

Multifamily insurance in Nebraska is up 29% year over year. Not over five years. Not adjusted for inflation. Twenty-nine percent in twelve months.

If you own a 20-unit building and you haven't touched your insurance in the last year, you're probably paying $6,000 to $10,000 more annually than you were two years ago. That comes straight out of your NOI. Straight out of your cash flow. Straight out of your returns.

This is the single biggest expense pressure on small portfolio owners right now, and most are just absorbing it. Writing the check. Moving on. Not asking questions.

That's a mistake. Because while you can't control the macro forces driving rates up, you can absolutely control how you respond to them. And the owners who respond well are saving thousands per year on one line item.

Why Rates Are Spiking

Before we get into solutions, you need to understand why this is happening. Not so you can complain about it, but so you can stop expecting rates to go back down anytime soon.

The reinsurance market is hardening. Your carrier has insurance too, called reinsurance. Those reinsurers have been hammered by catastrophe losses globally. When reinsurers raise rates, your carrier raises rates. You're at the end of the chain.

Carriers are exiting markets. Less competition means less pricing pressure. Fewer carriers writing multifamily in the Midwest means the ones who stayed can charge more.

Replacement costs are up. Materials, labor, supply chain issues. Your carrier bases premiums partly on replacement cost. When that number goes up, your premium follows.

Catastrophe losses are spreading. Nebraska isn't Florida. But the insurance market is national, and losses in one region affect pricing everywhere. Omaha is subsidizing Miami whether you like it or not.

None of this is going to reverse quickly. So the question isn't "when will rates come back down?" The question is "what am I doing about it right now?"

What You Can Actually Do

Here are six strategies that work. Not theoretical. Not "in a perfect world." These are moves we've made with real owners on real portfolios.

1. Shop Your Policy Every Year

This is the lowest-hanging fruit and most owners don't do it.

If you've been with the same carrier for more than 12 months without getting competitive quotes, you're almost certainly overpaying. Loyalty doesn't get you a discount in insurance. It gets you a rate increase that nobody bothered to challenge.

Get 3-4 quotes minimum. Every year. Yes, it's tedious. Yes, it takes time. That's why you should have a broker doing this for you, which brings me to point four.

The variance between the highest and lowest quote we've seen on the same property is sometimes 30-40%. That's not a rounding error. That's real money.

2. Restructure Your Deductibles

Higher deductibles mean lower premiums. This is straightforward. But it requires you to actually model the risk.

If you raise your deductible from $1,000 to $5,000 per occurrence and it saves you $3,200 a year, you need to ask: how many claims have I filed in the last three years? If the answer is zero or one, the math is obvious. You're pocketing the savings and self-insuring the small stuff.

If you're filing multiple claims per year, higher deductibles might not be the right move. But most well-maintained multifamily properties file very few claims. The owners who are filing frequently have a maintenance problem, not an insurance problem.

Model it. Don't guess. Look at your claims history. Calculate the breakeven. Make a decision based on numbers, not instinct.

3. Bundle Properties Under One Policy

If you own multiple properties on separate policies, you're almost certainly paying more than you need to.

A blanket policy that covers your entire portfolio under one master policy typically costs less per unit than individual policies on each building. You also get simpler administration, one renewal date, one broker relationship, one set of paperwork.

The caveat: blanket policies aren't right for every situation. If your properties are wildly different risk profiles (a 1950s building in the floodplain and a 2010 build on high ground), a blanket policy might not make sense. But for most small portfolio owners with similar asset types, bundling saves money.

4. Work with a Multifamily Specialist, Not a Generalist

Your insurance broker matters more than most owners realize.

A generalist broker who writes auto, home, business, and commercial policies treats your multifamily portfolio like one more file in the cabinet. A specialist who focuses on multifamily knows which carriers are competitive in your market, which underwriters are flexible on what risk factors, and what policy structures work best for your portfolio size.

The difference between a generalist and a specialist broker can be 15-25% on the same coverage. That's not because the specialist has magic. It's because they know where to shop, what to ask for, and how to present your properties to get the best rate.

If your current broker has never asked to see your capital improvement history, your maintenance protocols, or your loss runs, you have the wrong broker.

5. Document Your Loss Mitigation

Insurance carriers price risk. If you can demonstrate that your properties are lower risk than average, you can get better rates. But you have to document it.

Here's what moves the needle with underwriters:

Capital improvements: New roofs, updated electrical, plumbing upgrades. Document everything with dates, costs, and photos.

Security measures: Camera systems, controlled access, exterior lighting. Carriers love this.

Fire protection: Sprinkler systems, fire alarms, extinguishers in common areas.

Maintenance protocols: Documented preventive maintenance schedules. Seasonal inspections. HVAC service contracts.

Claims history: A clean loss run is your best negotiating tool. If you haven't filed a claim in three years, that should be front and center in every renewal conversation.

Most owners have done some of these things. Almost none have documented them in a way that helps their insurance broker negotiate on their behalf. Put together a property profile for each building. Include the improvements, the safety features, the maintenance schedule. Give it to your broker. Let them use it.

6. Consider an Umbrella Policy Structure

For portfolio owners with multiple properties, an umbrella policy can provide additional liability coverage at a fraction of what it would cost to increase limits on each individual property.

This is especially relevant in today's litigation environment. A slip-and-fall lawsuit on one property shouldn't threaten your entire portfolio. An umbrella policy creates a layer of protection that sits on top of your underlying policies.

The cost is typically $1,000 to $3,000 per year for $1-5 million in additional coverage, depending on portfolio size and risk profile. That's remarkably cheap for the protection it provides.

Real Numbers: What This Looks Like in Practice

Let me give you a case study. Names removed, numbers real.

An owner we worked with had a 20-unit portfolio in Omaha. All B-class, 1980s-era buildings. Decent shape. Low vacancy. He'd been with the same carrier for four years without shopping.

His premium: $1,850 per unit per year. That's $37,000 annually on insurance alone.

Here's what we did:

Shopped the policy with four carriers through a multifamily-specialist broker

Restructured the deductible from $1,000 to $2,500 per occurrence

Bundled all three properties under one blanket policy

Documented recent capital improvements (two new roofs, updated electrical in one building, camera systems added)

Added an umbrella policy for additional liability protection

New premium: $1,380 per unit per year. That's $27,600 annually.

Savings: $9,400 per year. On one line item. No rent increases needed. No new tenants. No additional capital. Just better management of an existing expense.

Over a five-year hold, that's $47,000 back in the portfolio. On a 20-unit building. Imagine the impact at 40 or 50 units.

Why Most Owners Don't Do This

It's not that this information is hidden. It's that nobody is telling small portfolio owners to look.

Your PM isn't going to shop your insurance. That's not their job. Your CPA-is-not-your-financial-strategist) sees the expense at tax time and might note that it went up, but they're not going to call a broker for you. Your lender doesn't care as long as the coverage meets their requirements.

This is an asset management function. Someone needs to be looking at every line item on your P&L and asking, "Can we do better?" Insurance is usually the single biggest opportunity because it's the one expense most owners set and forget.

The Bottom Line

Insurance rates are going up. That's not changing soon. But the spread between what you're paying and what you could be paying is probably wider than you think.

If it's been more than 12 months since you shopped your policy, that's money walking out the door. Not slowly. Not theoretically. Right now.

We talk about this every week on the Freedom Fighter Podcast. Listen on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube. Or reach out at Tanner@TopTierInvestmentFirm.com.

Tanner Sherman is the Principal and Managing Broker of Top Tier Investment Firm in Omaha, Nebraska. He co-hosts the Freedom Fighter Podcast with Ryan of Avara Investments.

Insurance Is Eating Your NOI. Here Is How to Fight Back.