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Choosing the correct landlord insurance policy

By comparing quotes, cover details and policy online with top UK insurers and brokers can save you both time and money on your let property insurance. With our online landlord insurance comparison quote engine you can be assured of a highly competitive quote without cutting any of the benefits. Our landlord insurance policy comes with loss of rent and property owners liability as standard. With more let property insurance schemes to choose from we can normally cater for any type of property owners insurance including properties that are unoccupied, of non-standard construction such as 100% felt on timber and any let types. As well as providing cheap landlord insurance for properties with professional tenants we also provide great quote for student tenants, DSS and asylum seeker tenants.

Many different options are available for rental properties including the common ones listed below:

• Landlord Building
• Landlord Content
• Landlord Legal Expenses Policy
• Rent Guarantee
• Tenants Content
• Loss of Rent
• Property Owners Liability
• Accidental Damage Cover
• Student Tenants
• DSS Tenants
• Asyslum Seekers Tenants
• Professional Tenants
• Buy to Let
• Landlords Portfolio
• Residential and Commercial Rented Property

For properties that are occuppied by multiple tenants, it is a duty of the landlord to ensure that they have the correct licence in place. On 6th April 2006 the government introduced the mandatory policy on House in Multiple Occupation (HMO). The main aim of the licence was to both improve the physical condition and management problems in the rented sector. For more details on HMO and its implications on a private sector landlord please visit the communities.gov.uk/housing/rentingandletting/privaterenting/housesmultiple/ website.

Landlords Insurance Guide

There are both the residential property landlords and commercial property landlords with a large portfolio of properties. Whether you a landlord with a single rented property or a landlord with a portfolio of properties the important thing is that all the premises must has a landlord building insurance cover to protect their buy to let investment.

Most new landlords that purchase a second home do so in the intention of supplementing their main source of income. There are other property owners for whom the rental market is a full-time job and many of these landlords manage multiple properties. Most landlords know that a conventional home insurance cover is not the correct policy for rented homes but instead require a landlords insurance cover. A landlords building insurance cover be taken out for both commercial and residential properties.

By taking out a let property insurance policy you can be assured that it is the correct cover for the rented building should a claim arise. Most landlord insurance quotes automatically include property owners liability, loss of rent cover and some insurers also offer free legal expenses cover. Optional extra’s can be added to the policy such as rent guarantee cover for an additional premium. The landlord rent guarantee cover, in our opinion is a must as it will provide cover for any tenants that fail to pay their rent and also the costs in evicting the tenant. The loss of rent cover which is included as standard in most landlord insurance policies is also extremely useful in cases where the property has suffered from fire damage. In this case the tenants have to move and it may take the building contractors 6 months to repair all the damage caused. During this period you obviously are not receiving any rent from the tenants but this will be compensated under the loss of rent cover.

‘Insuring rented properties with a landlord’s insurance cover’

One of the questions you will be asked during the quote stage is the rebuild value of building or commonly known as ‘buildings sum insured’. This relates to the cost of rebuilding the entire property in the event the building is destroyed and has to be rebuilt from scratch. The most important thing is to give an accurate amount for rebuilding costs. If you inaccurately overvalue this figure you could be paying more for your landlord insurance cover. But on the other hand if you under insure the property then in the event of claim the insurers would apply what is simply know as an ‘average clause’. This means that the insured is acting as their own insurer for the difference between actual value and the declared value and bears a rateable share of any losses accordingly.

Can multiple rented properties be insured under a single landlords portfolio insurance?

If you have more than one let property then all the premises can be covered by a single landlord portfolio insurance policy. This cannot only save you money but also it would ease the administration due to the fact you only have to remember a single renewal date. Most landlords portfolio policies are flexible in that premises can be added or taken ‘off’ the policy at any time, can contain a mixture of residential and commercial buildings. The policy will also usually cover different types of tenants such as professionals, DSS benefits, student lets and even unoccupied properties that are currently vacant.

How can I get an instant online landlords insurance quote?

For simple one buy to let home insurance you can easily obtain a quote online. Most brokers’ online landlord insurance quote portals will compare the market with a few different insurers. This will ensure that you get a cheap landlord insurance quote. Cover can normally be incepted instantly subject to payment being made.

Landlords that are considering using a property as a second home or as a holday let need a holiday home insurance policy.

• Second home insurance
• Holiday let insurance
• Instant online quotes
• Purchase online

It sounds perfect: buy a property somewhere you enjoy visiting (and perhaps plan to retire to), use it when you like, and get it to pay for itself the rest of the time by running it as a holiday let. In reality, a lot of landlord insurance customers operating holiday lets are glad to break even in this competitive and labour-intensive market. However, this is an expanding market: more than 4 million people rent cottages and holiday apartments every year, and self-catering holidays are increasingly popular.

Most holiday lets occur during the period of about 20-30 weeks covering late spring, summer and early autumn, but city properties are a likely bet all year round, and there can be high demand at Christmas and New Year. Standard lets are by the week, but weekend and mid-week breaks are popular, again especially in cities.

Typical locations

Obviously there are hotspots such as the Lake District, seaside resorts and major cities, such as London, York and Edinburgh, but the market for holiday lets is wide ranging. Pretty rural or seaside settings are extremely attractive, and a site close to shops and with good transport links is likely to attract valuable repeat bookings. City properties should be as near the centre as possible, and certainly with good transport links. Elsewhere, the most attractive holiday lets are those that are conveniently situated among the local attractions, rather than on the edge of a popular region. A rural location might look attractive, but it could be vulnerable to burglars because it will be left unattended, and is likely to be equipped with attractive, portable equipment. You need a good burglar alarm.

Holiday lets are a quick turnaround business where the property needs to be freshened up between lets of a week or two, so either you will need to be on hand as a regular commitment, or you will need to find someone to do it for you: you can’t run it yourself properly from a distance.

There are strict rules as to what constitutes a holiday let. A holiday let must be in the UK, furnished, available for letting for at least 140 days a year and commercially let (not at cheap rates to family and friends) for at least 70 days a year, with the lets not exceeding 31 days.