Property Portfolio Insurance

The recent boom in buy to let investments has seen an increase in the number of landlords owning more than one property. Although there are still those more “accidental” landlords with just a single property to let, an increasing number of investors have sought to maximise the available business opportunities by expanding their portfolio.

What is property portfolio insurance?

Just as the title suggests, this is insurance designed to incorporate under one umbrella investment in more than one let property.

An increasing number of even smaller property investors may be looking to make the most of the current boom in buy to let opportunities through the purchase of more than one property.

Property portfolio insurance – available from us here at Specialist 4 Property Insurance – extends protection to all the properties you may own under a single property. In so doing, it offers savings on the premiums you might otherwise pay for insuring each property separately. Plus, it means you only have policy that you need to manage and not several.

What does it typically cover?

It does this by extending to all properties in the portfolio the safeguards that give you peace of mind for your investment. For instance, cover may typically include:

protection against loss or damage to the structure and fabric of the buildings following flooding, fire, storm damage, impacts, theft or vandalism;
protection for any of the contents you own against similar risks;
public liability indemnity against claims made by your tenants, visitors or members of the public who might be injured or have their property damaged;
compensation for the loss of rental income if one of the properties becomes unusable following a major insured incident; and
help with legal fees and expenses in defending or pursuing claims which might arise in connection with your ownership of the insured properties.

Who is property portfolio insurance suitable for?

Just as the name suggests, this specialist type of insurance is suitable for any owner of more than one investment property.

This might be a major, professionally-oriented property company capable of acquiring multiple let properties or it might be a much smaller, even part-time landlord looking to expand a growing buy to let business by acquiring a second or third investment property.

The number of owners of such portfolios has grown in recent years, in line with the demand for private sector rental accommodation and the business opportunities for investors.

At the turn of this century, for instance, the vast majority of private sector landlords owned just a single property. According to government statistics, 78% of all landlords owned one buy to let property alone and only 8% of property owners described themselves as full-time landlords.

According to figures released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) in July 2015, however, new mortgages and remortgages for the purchase of buy to let property suggest that more landlords are owning more than a single investment property.

Summary

As the opportunities available in the buy to let market have increased, so more and more investors have looked to increasing the size of their property portfolios.

Even when the portfolio remains relatively small – only two or more properties, for example – there are savings to be made by incorporating all of the properties made under a single property portfolio insurance.