Are You Sure You’re Insured?

Specialist Landlord Insurance and Why You Need It.

If you’re the kind of person who’s willing to risk everything, who isn’t bothered about huge financial losses or who can pay out on claims for damages without worrying, you might think landlord insurance is unnecessary. But if you’re like most people, it’s something you need to have.

Let’s be straight, it’s not a legal requirement, but if you have a mortgage on the property you rent, you’ll probably find that it’s a condition of that mortgage to have specialist landlord insurance.

The reasons are simple. However good your tenant, even if it’s a family member, a normal homeowner policy won’t cover your buildings or contents if you rent all or even part of it. Check your home’s policy, look at the exclusions. You’ll see what we mean.

Increased risk

Mortgage lenders aren’t being awkward, and the insurance industry isn’t trying to hoodwink people. The specialist policies reflect the reality of increased risk. Remember – it’s not the occupier’s money that’s at stake, but your investment. Do you trust your tenant as much as you trust yourself? Even if they’re brilliant, careful tenants you’ve known for years, accidents do happen. Fires, floods and storms don’t wait to check if you’re insured before wreaking havoc on the structure of your property.

Your contents

Then there are the contents to consider. Even an unfurnished let may have kitchen units, curtains, carpets, white goods – it all adds up. And again, without specialist cover, it won’t be protected. Will the deposit your tenant’s given you cover the cost of a new kitchen? Probably not.

Your liabilities

It’s not something we want to dwell on, but there’s also a small matter of property owner’s liability. As a landlord, you have a legal responsibility to ensure that your property does not pose a risk to tenants or their belongings. Say, for example, your tenant received a shock as a result of a wiring problem. You could face a substantial claim.

Be prepared

A frightening proportion of landlords don’t have adequate insurance. Of them, many don’t realise the risks they face. No one likes to be pessimistic, but ignoring the possible problems doesn’t stop them happening. It just makes them a lot more serious and a lot more expensive if they do occur.

Landlord Insurance cover makes sense whatever size your property portfolio. If you rent a room to a lodger, you should check it out. If you let a flat where the freeholder insures the whole building, check the details and add extra cover if necessary.

The good news

There’s always good news if you look for it. Here, the good news is that cover is affordable and can be tailored to fit almost any circumstance. Whatever the tenant type and whether it’s a single buy-to-let or a chain of HMOs. You’ll need a formal tenancy agreement for a landlord insurance policy to be valid, but if you’ve been following our posts, you’ll have that sorted.

If you’d like to talk about Landlord Insurance, call us. Our number is 0333 577 9050.