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What is landlords insurance?
Landlords insurance provides financial protection to landlords who rent out a property or properties to tenants. It varies from a home insurance policy as it covers the increased risks associated with renting a property to tenants. It can include buildings insurance, contents insurance, property owners’ liability, loss of rent following a claim, and accidental damage.
As award-winning landlord insurance providers, insuring property since 1982, Alan Boswell Group knows how complex is it to be a landlord. There is a mass of legislation and regulations to understand, plus the pressure of attracting decent tenants, collecting rent, and maintaining the property. Our aim is to make your job easier by giving you essential advice and providing you with competitive protection to help you save time and money when safeguarding your investment.
Do I need landlord insurance? Is it legally required?
Landlords insurance is not a legal requirement, however, it is vital to protect your financial investment. If you have a mortgage on your property, your lender may require you to take out insurance before you take on tenants.
Whether the property is a short, medium, or long-term investment, it’s wise to put the correct protection in place, if only for peace of mind. As a landlord, you may be faced with unique challenges and additional financial outgoings to ensure the property is kept up to standard.
What does landlords insurance cover?
Landlords insurance products can differ dramatically, which is why it’s essential to compare policies and make sure they are right for you and your situation. The most essential cover is buildings and contents; however, landlords can take out additional insurance policies to cover against:
• Damage to your property by the tenant
• Non-payment of rent
• Emergency overnight accommodation for the tenant
• Emergency repairs
• Liability for loss or injury related to your rental property
• Loss of rent or the cost of alternative accommodation if your tenants have to move out following an insured event
What type of landlord insurance do I need?
A wide range of landlord insurance policies are available to ensure landlords and property owners get the correct cover. The options vary according to the level of cover you want and the sort of property you look after. Explore these options below, and feel free to read our guide on landlord insurance types for more detail.
Property owners brochure
If you are a property owner or a landlord, you may be interested in our brochure that outlines the services we provide for our clients in the property industry. Download a copy of the brochure and learn more about how we can help you with your property needs.
Types of landlords insurance
Landlord Building Insurance
If you own the freehold of a property, buildings insurance is essential. It typically provides cover for loss or damage caused to the building itself, for example, in the case of fire or flood. Some building insurance policies also cover malicious damage by tenants.
Rent Guarantee Insurance
This policy protects you against non-payment of rent. If a tenant defaults on the rent, or can’t pay for whatever reason, you can activate this policy to claim back any money you have lost as well as receiving legal expenses cover of up to £100,000.
Landlord Legal Expenses Insurance
This policy covers landlords for legal costs and legal advice. Protecting you in disputes relating to your property and tenants, cover includes: legal disputes, legal expenses for evictions and tax investigations, plus access to a legal advice helpline.
Landlord Home Emergency Cover
Home emergency cover is intended to protect your property – whether it’s where you live or a rental property – in the event of a domestic emergency, e.g. boiler breakdown, failure in utilities, etc.
Multi Property Landlord Insurance
For landlords with more than one property, residential, and/or commercial property portfolios. A multi-property insurance policy will cover your entire portfolio – where you may have different rental arrangements across several property types – in one over-arching policy, or across several policies per property.
Block of Flats Insurance
Also known as block insurance, this is for landlords or flat management companies. You will need a different policy if you are the freeholder of the flat or a leaseholder. The building will need to be insured, and this should be covered by the owner(s) of the block of flats (the freeholder).
Landlord Contents Insurance
If renting out a furnished property you might want to cover the furniture provided to your tenants. If you’re renting out flats, contents insurance can cover communal spaces such as halls, reception areas, stairs, and landings. Often included as standard, you can also add accidental damage cover for spills, breakages, and damage by tenants.
Landlord Liability Insurance
If a tenant/visitor has an accident in your property and blames you as the property owner, they may take legal action. Public liability insurance covers your legal defence costs and expenses, as well as any damages awarded. Liability claims can be costly, so many policies offer cover in excess of £1m, up to £5m, and higher for challenging situations.
HMO Insurance
If your property has more than three tenants (not from the same family), such as in student or other shared accommodation, general landlord insurance is not adequate. You will need Houses in Multiple Occupancy (HMO) insurance for comprehensive cover of associated liability and risks regarding your property.
In addition to the above, Alan Boswell Group offers an even more comprehensive range of advice, policies, and services beneficial to landlords and property owners. For further information, explore our dedicated pages listed here:
- Buy-to-Let Insurance
- Commercial Landlord Insurance
- Tenant Referencing
- Excess Protection
- Employers Liability Cover
- Unoccupied Property Cover
- Unoccupied Commercial Property Cover
- Private Sector Leasing
- Holiday Home Insurance, Serviced Accommodation Insurance, Airbnb Insurance
Our NIG landlord insurance policy is a Which? Best Buy.
We take great pride in being recognised for our dedication to providing the best service and comprehensive, tailored cover for our customers’ needs. If you are unsure of the type of cover you need, our expert advisers are available to help over the phone.
Speak directly to our team
01603 216399
Landlords Insurance Enquiry
Simon Ventham
Strategic Account Manager
Simon has worked in insurance his whole career, having joined Sedgwick Insurance Brokers (now Marsh) after his A-levels. He subsequently moved on, spending several years…
Amanda Riches
Insurance Adviser
Amanda is an insurance adviser specialising in personal lines including landlords insurance, boat, motor, home and travel.
Read our landlord case studies
How much is landlords insurance?
Costs for landlords insurance will depend on what level of cover or particular combination of policies you choose. Our landlord insurance statistics page helps to demonstrate what people may pay for their insurance.
Both your personal insurance history and the insurance history of the property you’re letting out will be taken into account when calculating the cost of your landlord insurance.
The type of building you are insuring will also affect matters – factors such as the age of the property, whether it’s a house or a flat, the number of rooms, and so on play a role. An insurance company will also want to know the type and number of tenants you’ll be letting to – whether they’re students, in full-time work, unemployed, and whether full tenant referencing has been undertaken.
Other unwelcome complications and additional costs could come from having to find alternative accommodation for your tenants should your property become uninhabitable.
Every landlord’s situation is as unique as their property, so there’s no ‘one-size-fits-all’ answer when it comes to insurance. Optional extra policies for landlords include legal expenses cover, rent guarantee insurance, and home emergency cover for sudden crises, such as boiler breakdowns. While this might not sound essential, you’ll be glad to have this extra cover in place if you find yourself dealing with a problem tenant or an unforeseen disaster.
Alan Boswell Group can arrange cover for building and contents insurance, contents only, buildings only, rent guarantee, legal expenses or rent guarantee with legal expenses, as well as portfolio insurance for landlords who own property portfolios. Regardless of your situation, we will do our best to tailor a bespoke solution that meets your needs.
Speak directly to our team
01603 216399
Landlords Insurance Enquiry
Excellent personal service with a very polite helpful person who listened and did not try and force a sale. Cannot rate highly enough.
FAQs
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You can find the terms and conditions for our price beater guarantee here.
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We accept self-contained dwellings let to single occupants, couples, bed-sit accommodation with shared facilities, and houses in multiple occupations (HMOs). We can also insure most commercial and part-commercial let properties at competitive rates. Read more on our article: What is an HMO?
Quotations for commercial let properties are not currently available online, please phone or email us. Hostel and B&B type properties, care homes, nursing homes and properties catering for specific disadvantaged, vulnerable, or problem occupants cannot be insured on the scheme policies, but we may be able to offer a quotation on an individual basis.
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Occasional claims are acceptable at normal terms. When you request an online quotation you will be asked for details of relevant claims.
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No, such items are automatically included within the definition of ‘buildings’ in our landlords’ policies. There is no need to arrange separate landlords contents insurance in these circumstances.
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You can get guidance on rebuilding costs at the BCIS website, but you should seek professional advice if unsure of the correct figure. We can assist you with calculating rebuilding values for straightforward properties.
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You are covered for legal liability to third parties up to £5m for any one incident, this is landlords liability insurance.
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Providing that your tenancy agreement is directly with the tenant, unemployed persons, students, and those receiving housing benefit/allowance are all acceptable.
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Full cover will operate for a period of up to 90 days, subject to you taking certain precautions. Please refer to the Summary of Cover or Specimen Policy Wording for precise details of the precautions.
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