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What Does Landlord Insurance Cover?

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Many things could go wrong when you rent out your property.

As a landlord, giving yourself protection is often a good idea.

Landlord insurance gives you this.

To find out what landlord insurance covers, keep reading.

What is landlord insurance?

Landlord insurance protects homeowners who rent out their property.

It allows you to recoup some losses if something goes wrong and can be tailored to your needs.

Many insurance experts recommend that someone letting out their home gets landlord insurance.

It can cover issues that building insurance or contents insurance doesn’t.

What does landlord insurance cover?

Landlord insurance can vary in its cost and what it covers.

Some of the most common things that landlord insurance covers are:

  • Legal costs from disputes with tenants
  • Injury occurring on your property
  • Accidental damage – such as smashing a window
  • Unoccupied properties 
  • Loss of rent (this is its own type of insurance).

Not all these areas are covered by typical home insurance. It can thus save you huge amounts of money if the situation arises.

You often get cover for an unoccupied property under home insurance. But landlord’s insurance covers this for longer.

Just make sure you get confirmation from your provider about what is covered.

This stops you from feeling hoodwinked if they fail to pay for something you expected to be covered.

What does landlord insurance not cover?

There are plenty of things that landlord insurance does not typically cover.

You may need a different type of insurance to cover these things.

Or it might not be possible for you to cover it at all.

Some of the main things that landlord insurance doesn’t cover include:

  • Wear and tear
  • Student tenants
  • Tenant’s contents
  • Damp or mould.

Wear and tear is too difficult for an insurance provider to define. Student tenants are also considered a major risk to an insurance company.

This is why most won’t cover this. You may find a few exceptions to this rule.

Different types of landlord insurance

You typically have four types of landlord insurance to choose from. These each come with various add-ons for you to consider, too.

The three most common types of landlord insurance are buildings, contents and liability insurance.

You can then also be insured for ‘loss of rent’ if it’s caused by an insured event such as flooding or a fire.

Buildings insurance

Buildings insurance covers damage to the structure of your property. This includes:

  • Vandalism
  • Lightning
  • Theft.

Contents insurance

Contents insurance covers the items inside your property. This is useful for valuable assets that your renter breaks.

Remember that this doesn’t cover items belonging to your tenants.

Liability insurance

Liability insurance covers you if someone gets injured on your property.

This might be a tenant. Or it could be a contractor you’re paying to work there.

Loss of rent insurance

Loss of rent insurance covers your rent losses if your tenants have to move out due to an insured event.

This includes fire or flood. Make sure you speak to an expert about this before taking it out, as only under certain circumstances will you receive a payout.

How much does landlord insurance cost?

In most cases, landlord insurance costs around £200 per year. Many experts in the industry consider this a worthwhile investment.

You can use online comparison websites to see a full range of offers in this area. You may find quotes slightly below this number, and others that go above it.

Your best choice depends on the level of risk involved, and how safe you want to feel. Get advice from an expert if you’re unfamiliar with this area.

Is landlord insurance a legal requirement?

No, it is not a legal requirement. You’re allowed to let out your property without having this insurance.

Some lenders make it a condition of them offering you a buy-to-let mortgage. This could also happen with a landlord mortgage.

If the organisation refuses to give you the mortgage without this insurance, then it’s up to you.

You can either take out the insurance or look for another lender.

How do I choose the right landlord insurance for my needs?

You can see a full summary of the different types of landlord insurance further above on this page. You should consider which of these are likely to happen.

And taking out a combination of these insurance options could get you an overall discount, rather than doing it one by one. Your budget will impact what you can afford.

Speaking to a trusted insurance expert for guidance is also a good idea.

Your risk tolerance will impact your choice, too. All four types of landlord insurance can be helpful under certain circumstances.

If you can’t sleep comfortably at night without having all four covered, this should weigh into your choice.

Can I force my landlord to take out insurance?

No, you can’t force your landlord to take out insurance. It’s entirely their choice whether to do so.

You should check your tenancy agreement to see if your landlord must take out insurance.

In this situation, you may have a case. You should thus contact a solicitor to support you.

You could try writing to your landlord to encourage them to take out insurance.

Explain the benefits of doing so. But you can’t force them. In the meantime, you can take out renter’s insurance to protect yourself.

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