Jason

Unoccupied Property Insurance

Unoccupied property insurance may be a way in which you can insure your property during periods when it is no longer occupied. This particular type of insurance may be not only valuable to landlords and property agents, it can be also helpful and reassuring to know you will be covered for your own property if you tend to spend long periods away from home.

If your property is unoccupied for periods of 30 consecutive days or more, then you may need to investigate unoccupied property insurance.

Situations where you could find yourself in need of empty property cover may include where:

• you have a house in probate;
• you may be going through a separation, which has left your house empty;
• your work takes you away from your property for long periods of time;
• you may be a landlord of a property, who on occasions sees the property without tenants for 30 days or more;
• your house is on the property market, and until completion, the house is currently empty.

Unoccupied property insurance may not only be a tool for landlords it may also be helpful for anyone who is away from the property for long periods of time. As often is the case, people who already have house insurance, may assume that the property is covered for any problems whilst it is unoccupied.

Many insurance companies are obliging in covering properties which are unoccupied for less than 30 days; a family holiday for instance is often accepted. However, if your property is empty for longer periods you may need to take out extra cover. It is very important to note that unoccupied property insurance is not typically included in a landlord’s policy, nor traditional owner-occupier home buildings and contents insurance, so you may need to purchase separate insurance to cover periods of in occupancy.

The level of cover which is provided with unoccupied property insurance, as with all insurance policies, depends on your requirements. As with all insurance policy’s reading the documents thoroughly prior to taking out cover may be recommended to ensure that you have the correct and adequate cover to suit your personal circumstances.

Employer’s Liability Insurance and the Issue of Contributory Negligence

One of the very few legally required types of insurance cover in the UK is Employers Liability Insurance. Because it is so important and is covered by law it is also extremely well regulated to ensure that the insurance companies do not insert extra warranties, restrictions or onerous exclusions.

Employer’s Liability Insurance basically works like this; if you have an employee and they become injured working for you – regardless of whether it is via an agency or an umbrella company or any other arrangement – then as their employer you will be liable for any claim they make against you. If they get themselves a solicitor, then you will most likely be looking at claims over £12000, even in the case of really basic injuries. Typical cases include employees who fall off the first or second rungs of ladders and claim for over £100,000. If the claim is for something more serious, like the loss of fingers or toes to machinery, then you can be looking at claims well in excess of £800,000.

Such claims can succeed even if the employee was at fault in the accident. Despite their own negligence, because such claims are covered by extremely stringent regulations, if there is even an element of fault on the part of the employer, then chances are the claim will proceed. It has been estimated by insurance experts that claims are normally simply reduced by 3 to 5% when the employee has contributed 100% to their own injury!

That’s why if you are trading and you do not have business cover, then you should get some as soon as possible. Although you might think you will never be the subject of a claim, you’d be amazed how often it actually happens. Insurance is your one way of making sure it never ruins your business.

Obtain Inexpensive Renter’s Insurance

Depending on whom you rent from, sometimes renters insurance is required; it will depend on the landlord. Even if you are not required by your landlord to obtain renter’s insurance, it still is not a bad idea. Renter’s insurance is great whether you live in a house, condo, or an apartment.

You could say that there is an art to purchasing this type of coverage. For one thing, you should not be against it, as it has your best interests at heart, and those of your family, visitors, and even your landlord. Your insurance policy will cover you, your belongings, and your family, as well as any visitors that may come to your home.

If you have roommates that are not related to you, they will have to have their own insurance policies, as coverage under the same roof only applies to family members.

Because you are not related, that means that there are two different sets of personal belongings, meaning that there needs to be two separate policies to cover them. Also, if one roommate buys insurance and one does not, the one who does not must understand that his or her property is not covered under the other’s policy. Some of the stipulations are subject to change, as it all depends on the insurance carrier that you choose to purchase your policy from.

Before two or more people decide to live together, the etiquette of renter’s insurance should be discussed fully. It should be well understood by all parties what is and is not covered under the respective policies. For the best information, call your local insurance provider and find out what their coverage policies are when it comes to renter’s insurance.

A Man and His Van

When you are earning a living and part of that job includes driving your van to job sites and using your van to get those jobs done, you need a that is dependable and reliable. It must get you where you need to go, on time and ready to work. Your van is like an office and much of your contact with the public is likely to be in your van. Your van has to make a statement about who you are and the quality of the job you do.

It is important to keep your van clean. While a work van will get some wear and tear and may even have some inevitable clutter and debris, the impression you make will at least in part depend on how your van looks. Are their coffee cups and sandwich wrappers in the floorboard? Is the van covered in dirt and grime? Simply throwing away trash and washing the vehicle can really make a difference in the impression you make.

But perhaps more important than cleanliness is organization. The last thing you want to do when a customer asks to see paperwork is rummage through everything looking for what you need. Be sure anything important is handy and within easy reach. Remember, how organized you are in your van reflects on how organized you will be on the job.

Once you have your van looking great and well-organized, you want to be sure that you keep a regular maintenance schedule that will assure you do not miss an important appointment or fail to get a job done on time. This includes everything from checking and changing the oil to monitoring filters and tires. Not only does a regular maintenance routine ensure you will get where you need to go, it also saves money by increasing fuel efficiency and nipping problems in the bud before they become too costly.

Finally, and most importantly, you must properly insure your van. You need adequate insurance for vans to cover the cost of your van and its contents should it be stolen or involved in a serious accident. Otherwise, the costs of damages could be too much to handle. You must get quality insurance coverage that will repair or replace your van quickly to prevent you from losing business. This, along with the other points covered here, is critical if you want to run a successful business.

A good process for finding the most suitable landlord insurance quote

As a landlord, having adequate let property insurance in place may be something that you take very seriously. After all, your property could be an important source of income to you. However, landlords often require different insurance from private owner occupiers. So when you need to find insurance for your property, how do you go about finding the most suitable landlord insurance quote?

Consider exactly what you need

Not all landlord insurance policies are the same. Some may provide certain levels of cover that others do not, and some may be more expensive than others. Before you even start looking for let property insurance, think about what you would like to be covered within your let property insurance policy and then try to find something that matches this.

Typical things that you may want covered include:

• malicious damage by tenants;
• landlords legal liability;
• loss of rent due to an insured event (eg a flood or fire);
• subsidence cover (no longer offered as standard with some let property insurance policies).

Compare insurance policy quotes

It is typically a better idea to look at a number of let property insurance quotes when you are looking for a policy rather than going with the first one which you find. That way you can compare buy to let house insurance policies based on what is covered and the prices of the premiums, helping you to choose the most suitable one for your needs.

Don’t go on price alone

Although you want good value from your insurance, price alone is not a great indicator of which is the most suitable. It may be tempting to go for a policy which has a lower premium, but the question to ask is whether this really provides you with the cover that you need.

Find the most suitable policy

Once you have looked at a few different buy to let insurance quotes then you can choose the one that is most suited to your needs. This may be the only way to make sure that you get the most suitable landlord insurance quote for your requirements rather than one which may end up costing you more down the line.