What you need to know about landlord insurance

It’s a hectic life being a landlord – what with all the hands-on aspects of the business together with essential administration and bookkeeping to stay on top of.

Taking time out to find and arrange your landlord’s insurance may be something that you know you should get around to but perhaps keep putting off.

You know that the best landlord insurance for you is the insurance that suits your own particular needs and circumstances. And it is very important to remember that what is the best landlord insurance for you may not be the same for another landlord. If that seems like too much to have to consider, in reality your search for appropriate landlords’ cover doesn’t have to be time consuming or onerous.

As an illustration, at Cover4LetProperty we provide a service dedicated to let property insurance designed to provide you with the cover that we believe most matches your particular requirements and budget.

You can view and purchase policies online and have all the relevant documentation emailed to you. Or, if you prefer, we also offer a friendly, professional telephone service and can send documentation out in the post.

Getting appropriate buy to let insurance cover may be as simple as supplying some basic information about yourself and your property and then selecting from the options which most closely match your needs and requirements.

Understanding your buy to let landlord’s insurance quote

But first of all, what does landlord insurance typically cover?

Buy to let landlord’s insurance typically incorporates a number of areas of cover, protecting against loss or damage not only to your property but also to the buy to let business itself. Do note that different landlord insurance providers may offer different elements of policy cover, so always make sure you know what your cover entails.

The following is an overview of the type of elements of protection that are available – some as a standard part of your policy, others which may be included as optional extras:

The building and its contents

• if you have a buy to let mortgage, your loan agreement is almost certain to insist on your having sufficient buildings cover – at least equal to the outstanding balance of your mortgage – and an insured sum reflecting the cost of rebuilding after a total loss;
• an important point to note, however, is that the value of your buildings policy may not necessarily be the same as the amount of your mortgage or indeed the cost of the property itself;
• buy to let building insurance should reflect the cost of a complete rebuild, including fees for architects and surveyors, site clearance, legal searches, and any other professional fees;
• not all buy to let home insurance policies cover subsidence as standard – some policies (such as ours) do, so make sure you understand the position regarding whether the cover is included or not;
• if your property is a fully furnished or partly furnished let then you may wish to consider the nature of the landlords contents cover that you choose;
• typically, two types of contents insurance are available, namely new for old or market value replacement – with the former, naturally, attracting a slightly higher premium;
• accidental damage cover may be available as an optional extra;

Loss of rental income cover

• if your tenants have to move out of your property if it is rendered uninhabitable following damage from an insured event – for example, extensive water damage – then the income of your buy to let business also suffers as a result;
• there are buy to let policies, though, which can provide compensation in this situation up to a predefined amount to help you manage your finances and maintain the financial viability of your business;

Different tenant types

• depending on the property in which you have invested, you might want to choose your target market among prospective types of tenant – families, young professionals, students, or benefits claimants, for example;
• some buy to let insurance providers may exclude some of these categories of tenant from the cover offered by their policies;
• but we provide cover for all types and categories of tenant – so that finding appropriate landlord insurance policies will be a whole lot easier for you;

Trace and access

• when you or your tenants have reported a maintenance issue, the tradesmen you call out might have fixed the problem you called them in to deal with, only to leave further damage in its place when they traced and accessed the fault;
• trace and access insurance typically covers the cost of these types of repairs (up to pre-agreed limits). Depending on your insurance provider, trace and access cover may come as a standard part of your cover or as an optional extra:

Landlords’ liability indemnity insurance

• typically, your landlord insurance policy will also provide landlord’s or property owner’s liability indemnity insurance;
• the indemnity safeguards your financial interest if injuries or property damage suffered by your tenant, one of their visitors, a neighbour, or a member of the public lead to claims of negligence on your part and your liability to pay – potentially substantial – compensation as a result;
• if you choose a buy to let landlord’s insurance policy with an unrealistically low level of liability indemnity insurance cover, the apparent savings on lower monthly premiums might turn out to have been a false economy;

Legal fees and expenses

• legal fees may be covered by some policies but not by others and may only be payable in certain circumstances – check the policy wording on this, or speak to your chosen buy to let insurance provider;
• an additional policy – residential let legal expenses and optional rent protection for example – may eb worth considering;

Empty or unoccupied property insurance

• if your buy to let property stands empty and is unoccupied for a period of 30 to 45 consecutive days or more – the exact period varying from one insurer to another – your policy may become severely limited in the scope of its cover or may lapse altogether;
• vacancies such as this might arise when your property is being renovated, for example, or it remains unoccupied at times after one set of tenants have moved out but before new ones have moved in;
• that is when you are likely to require specialist, standalone unoccupied property landlord’s insurance or renovation cover to restore the protection your property continues to need;
• our Guide to unoccupied property explains this in more depth;

Excess options

• finding the protection you need for your investment property, at a premium you consider reasonable, might be made that bit easier by agreeing to shoulder a higher voluntary excess on your policy in return for a reduction in the cost of your premiums;
• this may, of course, mean that in the event of a successful claim you have to contribute more towards any costs, so make sure you are comfortable not just with the savings but also with the implications of a bigger excess to pay in the event of a claim.

Other considerations

There are several other things you need to take in to account once you have your cover:

• you insurer may require regular property inspections to ensure that the property is well-maintained and meets safety standards. Failing to meet these requirements may affect your let property insurance cover;
• make sure your tenants are aware of their responsibilities, such as informing you of any damage or maintenance issues promptly. This can help prevent problems and reduce the likelihood of insurance claims;
• regularly review your landlord insurance policy to ensure it still meets your needs. If you make significant changes to the property – such as adding a conservatory – or if market conditions change, you may need to update your cover.

Where can I buy a trusted buy to let landlord insurance policy?

It pays to shop around when buying any kind of insurance. Getting one buy to let landlord’s insurance quote may not be as useful to you as getting several. It is only when you compare landlords’ insurance and see what’s on offer that you can identify areas of difference and select the options that are most appropriate for your particular needs and circumstances.

Who can make those comparisons on my behalf and where can I purchase a trusted buy to let landlord insurance policy for my buy to let UK-based property? Cover4LetProperty, that’s where!

At Cover4LetProperty we have access to a wide range of specialist landlord insurance providers who offer buy to let UK property insurance providing cover against the whole range of risks and perils.

Whether you are interested in high-level policy cover or what you consider to be low-cost landlord insurance, our buy to let building and contents insurance will cater for your individual requirements. Our team of experts has extensive knowledge of buy to let home insurance and can offer you expert advice for your building and contents insurance requirements.

We believe our buy to let landlord insurance policies are competitively priced and offer what we consider to be very comprehensive levels of cover. Typically, they include subsidence cover, trace and access cover, malicious damage by tenants or their visitors, and have no restrictions on whom you let to as standard – unless, of course, the policy details advise otherwise. You can also opt to include accidental damage cover for your building contents house insurance.

The buy to let landlord insurance market can be full of potential banana skins and our experts are here to guide you through the complications and offer you the appropriate and suitable buy to let UK insurance product to suit your needs.

Whether you have one property or multi properties our buy to let landlord insurance will offer you competitive terms on your buy to let UK based property. Request a landlord insurance quote online or call us on 01702 606301 to discuss your buy to let landlord insurance needs now!