Landlord Home Insurance

If you’re a landlord, whether you have a large property portfolio or one buy to let, you may find that standard home insurance will not cover your rental property. You will need to take out a landlord’s home insurance policy to cover your investment.  You can use the comparison table below to compare companies that may be able to offer you quotes for landlord insurance.

Whether you let residential properties, commercial or a mixture of the two, will affect what landlord’s home insurance is available to you. If you just let residential property, you may find a level of cover that provides building cover for your investment.

Landlord home insurance

The most basic type of residential landlord insurance normally available is buildings cover, which covers the building’s structure and permanent fixtures such as lights, bathtubs, etc.  It will also potentially cover the cost of clearing the land and rebuilding the property if an insured event destroys the property.

If you rent out the property as fully or partially furnished, you may also consider taking out a landlord content insurance policy to protect the items you provide, such as sofas, carpets, and appliances, from accidental damage. Some policies may not include cover for theft or malicious damage caused by tenants or other parties.

It is possible to take out landlord insurance policies that provide both covers for the building and its content; some may offer other types of cover as standard.

One feature you may wish to consider is landlord liability cover; this policy will help to cover your legal costs if a tenant or visitor was injured and made a personal injury claim against you. in the event of you being found at fault, it may also cover the compensation awarded to the claimant as well as their legal costs.

Other features or optional extras on a residential landlord insurance policy may include:

• Loss of rent insurance – If an insured event means you cannot let out your property for a time, this policy may allow you to claim the loss of income you incur.
• Alternative housing – If an insured event leaves your property uninhabitable, this policy may cover the cost of providing your tenants with alternative accommodation due to the loss of use.
• Boiler cover – Boiler breakdowns can be costly and need to be resolved quickly as it is not acceptable to leave your tenants without hot water or heating; this type of cover may be able to help cover the costs of repairing the properties heating this cover may also provide your annual Gas Safety Inspection (CP12) which you need to get every 12 months by law.
• Emergency cover – some insured incidents require a quick response to make your property safe and secure; this cover can help you get an approved tradesperson to the property 24/7. Some policies may provide your tenants with an emergency contact number to send someone to the property.

Commercial Landlords

If you rent out commercial properties such as shops or factories or mixed-use premises such as offices with flats, you will need to take out commercial landlord insurance. This insurance is normally more comprehensive than standard, and many providers allow you to place multiple buildings under the same policy.  However, each policy provider is, of course, different.  You can use the comparison table above to see where you might be able to get quotes for both commercial and residential landlord insurance.