Do I need landlord’s insurance?
If you use your property as a business, for example, you rent it out for domestic living or commercial businesses, it is a good idea to have landlord insurance in place.
What does landlord’s insurance cover?
Much like your home insurance, it covers a wide variety of different things, however, some of the main differences include protecting yourself against risks that come with renting your property too such as:
- The subsequent loss of rental income following a buildings insurance claim
- Public & Property Owner Liability Insurance
- Employers Liability Insurance
- Buildings
- Legal Expenses Cover
It is good to note that it may be a requirement from your bank that supplies your mortgage that you have relevant landlord insurance in place.
Is having landlord’s insurance a legal requirement?
You aren’t legally required to have landlord insurance; however it is a good idea to have it – even if you’re not required to do so. Think of it as a business, if someone was to get hurt whilst at work – you will have a legal claim on your hands, the same theory goes with tenants. You may be thinking, home insurance is enough right? Wrong. Depending on your insurance provider, you may not be covered for others living in your property so it’s well worth doing some research before taking the risk.
What does landlord’s insurance protect you from?
Landlord insurance doesn’t just protect you against liability claims but also protects you from forking out for rehousing costs if your property is damaged due to fire or flood. This can even include cover for loss of rent for the period of time your tenant is unable to live in the property. Overall, having landlord insurance is a wise decision to protect yourself in all aspects.
What types of landlord’s insurance do I need?
The best way to find out is to speak to an insurance provider about what you need covered, and the level of cover you would like. Landlords insurance is often split into two areas:
Landlord Contents Insurance
This type of insurance will depend entirely on whether you are renting out your property as furnished or unfurnished. If you are offering your rental furnished for goods such as; soft furnishings, fridge or washing machine, you may want to make sure these are covered if anything was to go wrong.
Landlord Buildings Insurance
As part of your landlord policy and you are the freeholder and are renting out the property you will need to have landlord buildings insurance as standard.
Landlord building insurance covers you for the structure of the building such as built in items such as kitchens, bathrooms and even boilers. Make sure when you are getting cover to insure your property to its total rebuild value which includes any professional fees and cost of site clearance.
To estimate the rebuilding cost of your property – which can be significantly less than its market value – you may need to call in an expert.
Many landlord building insurances cover you in the event of:
- Fire, lightning, explosion, or earthquake
- Riot, civil disturbance, or malicious acts
- Storm or flood
- Escape of water
- Accidental damage
If you need to find the right landlord insurance for your domestic or commercial let, contact us and we will do our utmost to assist you.
