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Landlord insurance protects property owners from financial losses associated with renting out a property.
It’ll provide theft, fire and weather damage cover for the structure of the rental property and any contents owned by the landlord that are within.
It’s slightly different to standard home insurance as it also covers risks specific to renting out a property, like loss of rent and legal expenses, but they might not be included as standard on every landlord insurance policy.
It's not a legal requirement, but it can help protect your property from all sorts of risks that come with being a landlord, from careless tenants to general maintenance and emergency household faults.
Most mortgage providers will insist you have landlord insurance in place if you’re buying a property to let it out.
Don't rely on ordinary home insurance, as generally you won't be covered if you rent out your house or flat. It won't pay out for things like unpaid rent or malicious damage caused by a tenant - all things that can be added to a landlord insurance policy.
If you’re renting out a leasehold flat in a block of flats, it’s likely that the freeholder may already have arranged buildings insurance, but it is worth checking.
Depending on what type of cover you select, most policies will usually include cover for the following as standard.
Much like a typical buildings insurance policy, landlord buildings insurance can help cover the cost of repairs in the event of damage to the structure of your property. It’ll usually cover damage by events such as fire, flooding, subsidence, theft or vandalism.
Landlord contents insurance is much the same as you would expect from a standard contents policy, keeping the items you own within the rental property covered – things like furniture, appliances and garden contents.
If the property you're renting isn’t furnished, you don’t need your own landlord's contents insurance. Tenants should have their own contents insurance for items they keep in the property.
Whether it’s a burst pipe, power outage or boiler failure, landlord home emergency cover safeguards your property with 24-hour support and assistance, protecting your tenants and your premises at the same time.
Your insurer will pay out to cover your rental income if, for example, your tenants need to move out due to an insured event, like a flood or fire. Loss of rent cover can also help with the cost of arranging alternative accommodation for your tenants.
Rent guarantee insurance will cover the cost of rent that isn’t paid to you by your tenants. You can usually claim on it after your tenants haven’t paid rent for a few months, despite mediation, and you now want to start the process of evicting your tenants for non-payment.
Property owners' liability insurance pays out if someone claims against their landlord or property owner due to personal injury or damaged belongings on their property.
Employer’s liability insurance will cover the costs if your employee - perhaps a cleaner, handyman or gardener - gets ill or injured because of their work for you. It’s usually a legal requirement, unless you’re running an unincorporated family business.
Legal expenses insurance can help to recover legal costs as a result of things like pursuing unpaid rent, tenant personal injury claims and eviction.
The cost of your landlord insurance will depend on things like how much rent you charge, the type of property it is, its age, the details of your tenants, the type of cover you want and whether you’ve made any previous claims.
To get your landlord quotes, you’ll be asked for a few details about the following:
Whether it’s a residential or commercial property, the type and age of the building and any materials used for construction
Their employment status and any background and identity checks you’ve ran
Do you need buildings and/or contents insurance? Plus any extras you need
Details about any claims made in the time you’ve owned the property
Whether you’re looking to pay your premium monthly or annually
The cost of your premium may vary depending on the level of cover you choose, the type of property you're letting out and your tenants’ situation.
Here some tips that may cut the cost of landlord insurance:
Landlords have a variety of insurance needs, including building cover, contents cover, liability insurance and accidental damage cover. Some policies will package these together to offer better value for money, or have specific clauses built in that negate the need to take out added cover elsewhere.
Specialist landlord insurance brokers may well prove better able to give quotes without unnecessary bloat, so shop around for cover.
It's important that you get the most realistic figure possible. Underestimate it and you could be left out of pocket should the worst happen; overestimate it and you're needlessly paying a premium.
For landlords able to shoulder the cost of smaller claims from their cash-flow or savings, this can be an effective way of bringing policy costs down.
If your property is unfurnished, or is furnished only with items you have no real concern for (old carpets, cheap appliances, etc), you might consider bypassing contents insurance altogether, if you believe the cost of the policy would outweigh any benefit in a claim.
Ensuring your property is equipped with an alarm and has solid locks on doors and windows will help reduce the risk associated with burglary, therefore reducing your premium.
Your insurance costs are more likely to rise if your tenants have pets, purely because the animals may make a mess that would require a claim of some sort (ruined carpets, for example).
Students and DSS tenants (private tenants who claim benefits) bring associated risks and therefore policies encompassing these demographics will be higher.
Generally, insurers aren't keen on providing cover for a property that will sit empty for extended periods of time (usually more than 30 consecutive days). This is because there's an increased risk of vandalism and burglary.
However unlikely making a claim may seem now, you'll be sorry later if you're not adequately protected and end up footing an enormous bill for the sake of saving a few pounds on insurance.
As always, the age-old advice is to shop around. While landlord insurance is a more niche type of insurance than car or home insurance, there are still a number of providers out there vying for your business.
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Page last reviewed: 11 August 2023
Reviewed by Holly Thomas
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