What is landlord insurance?

What is landlord insurance?

Any landlord with a property or properties to let faces a number of risks and perils – some of them potentially devastating:

• there may be loss or damage to the building itself or to the contents owned by the landlord;
• rent might be lost if the property become unavailable or unsuitable for rent following a major incident;
• there may be claims on the owner’s liability from tenants, their visitors or members of the public;
• or you might be faced with an expensive bill for the legal fees involved in resolving one dispute or another with your tenants.

Here at Specialist 4 Property Insurance we arrange landlords insurance that is designed to protect you against these and other perils facing the buy to let landlord.

What does landlord insurance typically cover?

What does landlord insurance typically cover?

The insurance offers safeguards against loss or damage to the structure and fabric of the let property in the course of such threats as fires, floods, storm damage, impacts, theft and vandalism.

If the premises become untenantable as a result of such an incident, the cover typically provides an element of compensation for the loss of rental income which is incurred.

Landlords liability insurance – typically of no less than £1 million of cover – is also a general feature of this type of insurance.

Cover for legal expenses and fees incurred during the defence of a claim from tenants or members of the public is also likely to be included.

Who is landlord insurance suitable for?

Who is landlord insurance suitable for?

Landlords insurance is versatile and adaptable. It is tailored to suit the particular needs and requirements of a wide range of different types of let property owner,

This may range from the professional property investor with the single-minded ambition of building up a portfolio of profitable buy to let investments to the type of owner described, for example, by the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) as an “accidental landlord”.

The latter are generally smaller, part-time landlords who came by their let property as the result of an inheritance, decided to make use of their personal savings through property investment, or have let their home whilst waiting to sell it and move on to another.

In either event, whether you are a full-time, professional or an accidental landlord it is important to arrange the insurance specifically designed for owners of let property and not rely on the kind of standard home insurance which typically becomes invalid once the property is no longer your own home but is let to tenants.

Summary

Summary

Whatever type of landlord you may be, therefore, landlords insurance is likely to play a vital role in the armoury of protections for your investment.