If you’re a new landlord or are seeking advice on what type of insurance and cover you need for your rental property, you’re in the right place. Lets Protect have put together a guide to inform you about everything you need to know about what landlord insurance is and why it is worth having.

What is landlord insurance?

Landlord insurance protects landlords from financial losses associated with their rental properties. Even when you’re confident that you don’t need the insurance, it provides an extra layer of backup in case anything goes wrong with the tenancy, rent collection, or maintenance of the property.

‍

The insurance can involve a wide array of cover for different things associated with rental properties, whether it’s loss of rent, accidental damage, or burst pipes causing floods. 

‍

Why have landlord insurance?

Landlord insurance covers you for anything that may go wrong with your rental property, even when you least expect it.

‍

Plus, if you’re a buy-to-let mortgage lender, you will most likely have to take out landlord insurance as a necessary requirement.

‍

Different types of landlord insurance

‍

There are a range of policy covers within landlord insurance. Here’s a quick rundown of what landlord insurance covers:

‍

• Buildings insurance - Covers the cost of repairing or rebuilding your property if it’s damaged in a fire, flood, storm, falling trees, or vandalism. It will also cover malicious damage by tenants.
• Contents insurance - Protects all contents against theft or damage. It includes items such as furniture, televisions and carpets, and anything owned by the landlord.
• Loss of rent - This covers the cost if your tenants are unable to stay in your property as a result of an insured event, such as damage from a fire or flood.
• Rent guarantee - Similarly, this covers tenants whose circumstances may change and who cannot pay the rent, possibly because of a loss of a job. As the landlord, you’ll still receive an income.
• Landlord liability insurance - This includes cover for any injury to third parties or damage to their property. As a landlord, you are responsible for ensuring your property is adequately maintained so that these issues do not occur. But if they do, this insurance is in place to cover it.

‍

Benefits of landlord insurance

1. It safeguards your income

The insurance is there to ensure that, as a landlord, you don’t lose money if there is a loss of rental income. The tenants may have personal circumstances preventing them from paying or because damage to the property means they cannot live there. Loss of rent insurance covers these circumstances if they arise.

‍

2. There is a range of policies to choose from

You have flexibility over what policies you include in your landlord insurance and which ones you don’t. For example, you may opt for buildings insurance but not contents insurance, especially if your rental property is not furnished (so contents insurance would be less necessary).

‍

3. Contents insurance covers your contents

The contents insurance covers the landlord’s possessions within the rental property, not the tenants. This means that the items and furniture you invest in for your tenants are a worthwhile investment because they will remain insured.

‍

4. Covers accidental damage and theft

You can’t help it if something is accidentally broken or something is stolen from the property. Landlord insurance helps tackle and cover these issues if they ever occur.

‍

5. You can claim compensation and get help with legal fees

If your tenant injures themselves from tripping over loose flooring in your rental property, you can claim on the landlord liability insurance to cover the costs. You’re liable for injuries like these because it’s your property. The insurance is there to help you to pay for the costs.

‍

How Lets Insure can help

Landlord insurance makes a positive difference for the landlords that use it. It enables peace of mind regarding any issues that could go wrong with a rental property, covers costs and handles compensation if they do.

‍

That’s why Lets Insure is here to help. With a range of expert services on offer across the UK, you can trust that your money and your properties are in expert protection. We offer Rent Guarantee Insurance, Home Emergency Assistance, and Deposit Replacement Insurance. You can sign up to our services for free or contact us with any questions you may have and we will be happy to help!  

‍