Guide to Landlords' Insurance

As a landlord, it’s sometimes difficult to understand what insurance you need. Letting your property is a big deal, so it’s important to have the necessary cover. In this guide, we hope to highlight the various types of insurance that come with letting a property and help you decide what you need.

So, what is (and why do I need) landlord’s insurance?

If you are a landlord, there’s a high chance you will have landlord’s insurance; it’s about as vital as car insurance is to your car. Your property is now a valuable source of income, so when you let it out you want to ensure you’re covered.

Landlord’s insurance is usually comprised of different insurance policies which we’ve collated together in this guide so you can understand which of the bunch are right for you. Most landlord insurance bundles are tailored to suit specific needs so it’s important to develop an understanding of each one to assess if they are required. Remember, we are here to help. To save you the hassle, let us do the work for you.

Briefly, there are around seven insurance policy types that you need to know about:

• Buildings Insurance – This policy covers physical damage to your property. From vandalism to natural disaster, this blanket ensures you’re covered for physical repairs and replacements.
• Contents Insurance – This policy covers the listed contents within the property. Any insured contents stolen or damaged will be either replaced or repaired.
• Portfolio Insurance – This policy covers multiple rental properties. It enables landlords to insure more than one property with a single premium and renewal date.
• Liability Insurance – This policy covers any injuries or deaths that may happen in your property. If the tenant or third party were to sue, this will help to cover those legal costs.
• Loss of Rent Insurance – This policy covers the rental payments the landlord receives. It ensures these payments are made to the landlord regardless of the situation.
• Legal Expenses Insurance – Much like with liability insurance, this policy ensures any legal fees from claims made against you are covered.
• Home Emergency Cover – This policy covers emergency repairs to your property. It ensures that problems are seen to as fast as possible.

Below we show a more in-depth discussion on each insurance policy type.

Buildings Insurance

Landlords’ Building Insurance covers the replacement or repair to the brick and mortar of your property, this cover is usually compulsory so you should check with your insurer. The policy will usually cover the following:

• Fire or smoke damage
• Theft, malicious damage, or vandalism
• Storm, lightning, or earthquake  (excluding fences or gates)
• Burst pipes
• Impact caused by vehicles, fallen trees, animals, aircraft, aerials, and masts
• Subsidence
• Oil or water leakage
• Civil commotion

Contents Insurance

Content’s insurance covers the cost of the landlord’s possessions within the property. Should anything get stolen or accidentally broken, this insurance policy will ensure you are at no loss. When looking into this policy, search for one that will replace on a ‘new for old’ basis, this means that your stolen or broken possessions will be replaced with shiny new ones. Note: this does not cover tenant’s possessions; the tenant will have to arrange this separately.

Portfolio Insurance

This insurance is essentially building insurance but for multiple properties on a landlord’s portfolio. It allows the landlord to insure all of their properties under one premium with one renewal date. Having this insurance allows you to save time and money on the administration and paperwork of different properties. Some insurers also offer a discounted price for keeping multiple properties with them.

Liability Insurance

Liability insurance covers against tenants who may take legal action against you for an accident that occurs on your property. This particular insurance is vital when in an HMO situation or when renting to students as you can never tell who is coming in and out of your property. Liability insurance can be added as an extra to most policies and may often be required if you provide student or social housing.

Loss of Rent Insurance

Loss of rent insurance covers you against the loss of rent – it’s pretty self-explanatory. If an incident occurs that prevents you from receiving your rental income, this policy will cover the payments you need to keep up with your mortgage and other expenses.

Legal Expenses Insurance

This insurance policy covers the legal expenses tied in with claims against you (the landlord). Even if the claims made against you aren’t favourable in court the cost of representation will be covered. The types of situations this type of insurance can cover you against are:

• Property damage, nuisance, and trespass
• Repossession
• Recovery of rent arrears
• Prosecution defence costs
• Accommodation cost

Home Emergency Cover

This policy will cover the costs of emergency repairs on your property following the occurrence of an unexpected disaster, such as; a gas leak, a break-in, a burst pipe, or a pest infestation. It ensures a fully qualified tradesman will be on hand for household emergencies. These policies usually cover call out charges, materials, and labour costs (up to a set maximum sum per claim).

Of course, don’t forget, we’re just at the end of the phone should you need us.

We are an Insurance Broker with over 25 years of experience dealing with landlord’s insurance, combine this with our free, no obligation advice and quotes and we think we make a great choice for your insurance – though don’t just take our word for it.