Three things decide most Nashville apartment placements: the roof and the wind and hail deductible that comes with it, whether the building is near the Cumberland or one of its creeks (flood is a separate policy), and how the plumbing and sprinkler lines are protected in a hard freeze. Tennessee’s landlord and tenant act and Metro Codes’ property standards shape the liability side. Send me those facts and I can take the building to market.
What a Nashville underwriter asks first
- RoofAge, type and the year of the last full replacement, building by building. Garden-style complexes are mostly roof.
- Wind and hail deductibleUsually separate from the deductible for fire and water, and often a percentage, not a flat amount.
- Water nearbyThe Cumberland, the Harpeth, Mill Creek, Browns Creek and Whites Creek all set record or near-record levels in May 2010.
- Freeze protectionHeat in vacant units, pipe runs in breezeways and attics, and sprinkler lines.
- ConstructionWood-frame garden apartments, older brick buildings and new podium mid-rises are three different risks.
- Codes historyMetro Codes’ Property Standards Division inspects for property maintenance violations, and its record follows the building.
The policy structure is the standard one (how an apartment program is put together). What follows is the Nashville part.
Tornado, straight-line wind and hail
The National Weather Service’s survey of the March 3, 2020 tornado is worth reading if you own in its path. It rated the storm EF-3 with peak winds estimated at 165 miles per hour and a continuous track of 60.13 miles through Davidson, Wilson and Smith counties, with 5 deaths and 220 injuries. It reported EF-2 damage across Germantown, half a mile north of downtown, including several damaged and destroyed apartment complexes; EF-3 damage in the Five Points area of East Nashville; and more damage through Donelson and Hermitage. On December 9, 2023 an EF-2 tornado touched down in north Nashville and stayed on the ground through Madison, Hendersonville and Gallatin.
Tornado and hail are covered as windstorm under a standard property policy; they are not excluded the way flood and earthquake are. What changes is the price of the risk and how the deductible is written:
- Percentage deductibles. A wind and hail deductible stated as a percentage is normally applied to the insured value of the building, not to the size of the loss. How wind and hail deductibles work.
- Per building or per location. On a complex with a dozen buildings that distinction is the whole loss.
- Roof valuation. Some insurers pay replacement cost on the building but only depreciated value on an older roof. Ask before the storm.
- Cosmetic damage. Some forms exclude dents to metal roofing and equipment that do not cause leaks.
- Time to rebuild. After a tornado every owner in the path is hiring the same contractors, so set the loss of rents period with that in mind.
Flood is a separate policy, and 2010 is why I ask
On May 1 and 2, 2010, Nashville International Airport measured 13.57 inches of rain, a two-day total the Weather Service says shattered the old record of 6.68 inches. The Cumberland River at Nashville crested on May 3 at 52.55 feet against a flood stage of 40 feet. The creeks did as much harm as the river. Mill Creek set record crests at both its Woodbine and Antioch gauges, Browns Creek and Whites Creek set records, and the Harpeth at Bellevue rose almost nine feet above its previous record and washed the gauge away.
None of that is covered by a standard commercial property policy, which excludes flood. Flood is bought separately, through the National Flood Insurance Program or a private flood policy, and for a larger complex often as an excess layer above the federal limit. Two practical points:
- Being outside the mapped zone is not the same as being dry. Creek flooding in 2010 reached buildings whose owners had never been asked to carry flood. I look at the creek as well as the map.
- Sewer and drain backup is its own coverage. The Tennessee insurance department lists water from backed-up drains or sewers among the events a standard homeowners policy typically does not cover; on a commercial policy it is usually an endorsement with its own limit.
Hard freezes and burst pipes
Middle Tennessee buildings are not built for long stretches below zero, and December 2022 tested them. An Arctic front arrived late on December 22; the Weather Service’s report lists a reading of one degree below zero at Nashville International Airport on December 23, with wind chills of 15 to 30 below common across the region through December 24.
Freeze claims in apartments tend to come from the same places: sprinkler and domestic lines in attics and breezeways, pipes on outside walls, and vacant or between-tenant units where the heat was turned down. Property policies generally cover sudden water damage from a burst pipe, but they also expect the owner to keep heat in the building. The state insurance department has warned homeowners that frozen-pipe damage might not be covered when it comes from negligence such as failing to maintain an adequate temperature. Commercial forms carry similar conditions, and vacancy clauses tighten them. I ask what your winter procedure is, and whether it is written down, because the underwriter will.
Tennessee landlord law and Metro Codes
Tennessee’s Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act does not apply statewide. It applies in counties with a population of more than 75,000 at the 2010 federal census, and a 2021 amendment removed the words that would have added counties at later censuses. Davidson County is covered; Metro’s housing office says so directly. The same 2021 law provides that in covered counties the Act preempts the field, so a county may not enact or enforce regulations that conflict with or add to it.
- HabitabilityThe state health department summarizes the Act as requiring landlords to keep rentals in line with building and housing codes that materially affect health and safety.
- Property standardsMetro’s Department of Codes and Building Safety enforces property maintenance through its Property Standards Division.
- Rental inspection districtsMetro Codes describes a proactive rental inspection program in 14 districts within Davidson County, drawn where there is a high share of older rental units that are deteriorated or at risk of it.
- Landlord registrationA Metro ordinance requires owners or agents to register residential rental property with the Property Standards Division. Confirm with the division how it applies to your building.
On the insurance side this is the liability policy. Most claims are injuries on stairs, breezeways, balconies, parking lots and around pools, and a file of uncorrected Codes notices makes them harder to defend. I look for assault and battery, habitability and animal exclusions in the general liability form, and put a commercial umbrella over the primary limit.
Earthquake: the question owners do not expect
The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance has reminded property owners that the state has two seismic zones, the New Madrid Seismic Zone in the west and the East Tennessee Seismic Zone, and that traditional homeowners and business policies do not cover earthquake damage. Nashville sits between the two. Earthquake is bought as a separate policy or endorsement with a percentage deductible, and some lenders on larger or masonry buildings ask about it.
What to send me
- Address, year built, stories, unit count and construction type for each building.
- Roof details by building: type, age, last replacement and any hail or wind claims.
- The current rent roll and a recent operating statement.
- Current declarations pages, including the wind and hail deductible and any flood policy.
- Five years of loss runs, with what was repaired.
- Flood information: an elevation certificate if you have one, and whether water reached the property in 2010.
- Freeze protection: your winter procedure for vacant units, exposed lines and sprinkler systems.
- Codes history: any open Metro Codes notices, and your landlord registration if it applies.
Common questions
Who insures apartment buildings in Nashville?
Standard and surplus lines insurers both write Nashville apartments; which ones fit depends on roof age, construction, losses and distance from water. I am an independent broker, so I take the building to the insurers that want that profile.
Is tornado damage covered on a Nashville apartment building policy?
Generally yes. Tornado is windstorm, which standard commercial property policies cover, but usually under a separate wind and hail deductible that may be a percentage of the building’s insured value.
Why did my apartment insurance deductible change to a percentage?
After repeated tornado and hail losses, many insurers moved wind and hail onto percentage deductibles. Check whether yours applies per building or per location, and whether the roof is insured for replacement cost.
Do I need flood insurance on an apartment building in Nashville?
Flood is excluded from standard property policies and bought separately. In May 2010 the Cumberland crested more than twelve feet above flood stage and Mill Creek, Browns Creek and Whites Creek set records, so I check creeks as well as the flood map.
Are frozen pipes covered for a Tennessee apartment building?
Sudden water damage from a burst pipe is usually covered, but policies expect heat to be maintained and vacancy conditions can limit coverage. Keep a written winter procedure for vacant units and exposed lines.
Does Tennessee’s landlord-tenant act apply in Nashville?
Yes. The Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act applies in counties with more than 75,000 people at the 2010 census, and Davidson County is one of them.
Does my Nashville apartment policy cover earthquake?
No. The Tennessee insurance department notes that traditional business policies do not cover earthquake damage; it is a separate policy or endorsement with its own deductible.
General information about insuring rental apartment buildings in Nashville and Davidson County as of November 2026, not legal advice. Storm figures are from National Weather Service event summaries. Landlord and tenant duties and Metro Codes programs are set by Tennessee law and Metro ordinance and change; confirm how they apply to your building with Metro Codes and counsel. Coverage depends on underwriting and the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy actually issued.