Landlord Insurance
Compare landlord insurance quotes to find the best insurance deals to protect you from financial losses connected to your rental properties.
What is Landlord Insurance?
Landlord insurance, also known as “buy-to-let insurance” or “landlord property insurance”, protects the property owner from financial losses associated with the rental from events both connected to the tenants, and events unrelated to the tenants.
Landlords insurance is suitable for premises rented by both residential tenants, such as an apartment rented by a couple as their home, and commercial tenants, such as a commercial unit rented by business for use as a warehouse.
There are multiple levels of cover available, and different insurers include cover for different events, so it’s vital to check the level of cover meets your minimum requirements.
Is Landlords Insurnace a requirement?
Despite not being required by law, many mortgage lenders or financiers will include terms within their contracts requiring a minimum level of landlords insurance, so it’s essential to check the terms and conditions of any agreements associated with rented properties.
Standard home insurance policies usually won’t cover you for risks associated with renting out your property.
Who needs Landlords Insurance?
Landlords insurance can be suitable for landlords of both residential and commercial properties, but the type of policy’s needed may be different for each. Either way, it’s essential to protect your properties, and choosing the right policy can save you from significant losses in the event something goes wrong.
Some landlords think they don’t need landlord insurance when renting to friends or relatives, however without a policy in place the landlord is unprotected, no matter who they rent to. If the landlord is not living in the property themselves, they are unlikely to be covered by a standard home insurance policy, therefore they should seriously consider a landlord insurance policy.
What does Landlord Insurnace cover?
Although there is no ‘standard’ level of cover, we believe a good policy should include the following:
Damage to the building caused by escape of water, vandalism and fire.
- Damage caused by natural disasters such as subsidence, storms, falling trees and flooding.
- Landlord rent guarantee insurance (also known as tenant default guarantee insurance) to cover your rental income if your tenants be unable to pay their rent.
- Landlords contents insurance to cover the cost of repair or replacement of the furniture and appliances that you provided in your rental property.
- Landlord liability insurance to protect you from claims of injury or damage related to your rental property
What doesn't Landlords Insurnace cover?
Not all landlord insurance policies cover the same events, so it’s crucial to check you have the minimum level of cover you need. Some policies may not include the following as standard:
- Accidental damage caused by tenants.
- Malicious damage from tenants (malicious damage is only usually covered when occurring from vandalism or theft).
- Tenants’ contents. (Only items owned by the landlord are usually covered in landlords insurance).
- Costs associated with evicting a tenant.
- Boiler breakdown cover.
How much Landlord Insurnace cover do I need?
The level of cover you need should be based on how much you want to protect and how much risk you are willing to take. Landlords insurance is not a legal requirement, but the financial impact in the event something goes wrong can be devastating, so it’s worth considering the impact of various eventualities before deciding how much cover to take out.
Landlord insurance is often made up of 4 main categories:
- Buildings insurance
- Contents insurance
- Property owners’ liability cover
- Details of customer data handling procedure
- Loss of rent cover
Insurers usually allow landlords to customize their level of cover, enabling them to take out protection for specific areas based on their needs As there are so many variations within landlords insurance, when comparing prices it’s key to ensure the policies are like for like, so you know you’re getting the right deal.
What information do I need to get a quote?
To get a quote for landlord insurance, you’ll need the following information:
- Details for the property/properties you wish to insure.
- Business name, trading address and legal status if you operate as a business.
- Details of your tenancy agreement.
- Details of claim history (if any)
- Policy preferences, including type of cover, what options you want & policy start date.
How much does Landlord Insurance cost?
The cost of landlords insurance varies depending on a range of factors. These can include; the type of property/properties you with to insure, the location of the property/properties, level of cover you require, the value of cover and your claim history amongst other factors. Tenancies that are perceived as riskier will usually command a higher premium.
Another important factor to consider is choosing the right provider for your business insurance. The overall cost can vary dramatically between providers, even for the same or similar levels of cover, so it’s always worth comparing a number of providers to ensure you get the best deal.
