Landlord insurance

What can you expect from the best landlords insurance policy?

When starting your search for the best landlords insurance policy, you may want to start by thinking carefully about what the best policy really means for you.

It is not for anyone else to say what is best in your situation, and that is something which only you are able to do.

So it might be worth remembering this before you decide to purchase your buy to let insurance.

But once you understand this, what may you expect from landlords insurance?

Protection for the building

Your property is likely to be one of your largest assets, and it may therefore be a good idea to ensure that it is protected with let property insurance.

If your property gets damaged by fire or storms, you may be left with a large repair bill.

On top of that, you may not be able to charge rent to tenants if you are unable to let it out.

For that reason, when you start to look for the best landlords insurance policy you may want to make sure that damage to your property is covered, as well as landlords loss of rental income cover.

Protection for contents

If you have contents within the property, such as furnishings, a cooker or other items, then you may want to enjoy the peace of mind in knowing that these are protected.

There may be different levels of landlords protection for these, and some let property insurance policies may provide cover in certain situations only. For example, some may not cover theft by the tenants.

You may, however, be able to find a policy which covers malicious damage to your property by tenants, so this may be worth considering.

Legal protection

Legal protection may typically vary between insurance providers, but you may be able to find one with a level of cover which is suitable for you.

Some may not cover eviction of tenants or debt recovery, so this is something you may want to be careful with.

Other possibilities

You may also be able to find separate unoccupied property insurance. This is where the property is left unoccupied for 30-45 consecutive days or more, and may be useful in certain circumstances.

However, this is typically a separate policy and may not be included on a standard landlord insurance policy.

Consider all your options

When looking for the best landlords insurance, the above are some of the things which may typically be included. However, the most important thing is to make sure you find a policy which is suitable in your circumstances.

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For unoccupied property insurance, compare

If you are looking for unoccupied property insurance, compare a number of quotations and you may find suitable cover that is also cost-effective.

Here are some of the key issues associated with this type of cover:

• although there may be some variation between the detail of individual policies, simple landlords insurance will typically only cover an unoccupied property for up to a maximum of around 30 days – after which period, if the property remains unoccupied, your insurance may become invalid in part or total;

• in order to maintain a degree of insurance protection for your property, you may need to consider what is called unoccupied property cover;

• it is important to note that typically an insurance provider of standard landlords cover will not take into account the reason why your property has sat unoccupied for more than 30 days and even if the situation has been beyond your control (e.g. building work overrunning), this requirement for additional cover may still apply:

• different insurance providers may have different policies in this area, as is the case in standard buy to let insurance cover, therefore, for unoccupied property insurance, compare different propositions from different providers and you may find one that meets your requirements;

• for example, some unoccupied property cover may oblige you to take certain additional security precautions while your property stands unoccupied (e.g. perhaps placing some lights on a timer switch to suggest occupation to people watching from outside) – these requirements may prove to be significantly different from one policy to another;

• you may also find that some policies may have slightly different forms of this type of insurance, depending on how long your property sits unoccupied and whether or not it is furnished or unfurnished;

• an occasionally encountered misconception is that this situation only applies to landlord properties, in fact, it typically applies equally to property that is owner-occupied;

• if you would like to ensure continuity of cover to your property in such circumstances, look out for unoccupied property insurance, compare the options available and make the decision to act once you have identified a suitable solution.

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Protecting a Property Abroad

With the current state of the UK economy, many people are finding it incredibly difficult to secure a mortgage on a new home. With banks demanding a very high deposit rate and most people unable to save up large amounts of money, it is becoming increasingly difficult to buy a property in the UK.

Therefore, more and more people in the UK are looking into buying property abroad, especially around Europe and the Mediterranean. The house prices tend to be lower, they can bring in income through holiday letting and they can make for an excellent holiday or retirement home. However, there are risks with buying a property in a foreign country and it is crucial to stay protected.

Property Agent

The first thing you want to avoid is being caught out by property agents and ending up with a house that needs a lot of work or is in a bad area. To avoid this you should try and spend a decent amount of time out there and even see if you can spend the night in any perspective properties to find out how noise levels and how comfortable it is.

You should also work with both property agents in the UK and abroad to avoid any language barriers and to make sure you are not hit with a high conversion rate on the price. Securing a property is hard enough in your own country and it can be doubly difficult abroad.

Maintenance

You probably won’t be able to spend all year in your foreign property and so it is a good idea to try and find someone who can watch it whilst you are away. This could be a neighbour or a hired handy man who can make sure the property is well maintained and stays in prime condition.

Keeping your property properly maintained will help you generate more income from holiday renting and maintain a higher value when it comes to selling it on.

Insurance

Of course the main way to keep your foreign investment protected is to take our overseas property insurance which will protect you from any damage to the property in your absence. You can often find policies that will comprehensively cover the building, contents and even guests staying in the house when you are not there.

Hopefully your property abroad will give you a great place to have a holiday, lots of lovely memories and even some extra income, just make sure you are well protected and covered with a comprehensive insurance policy.

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Landlord Insurance for residential properties

All property owners should find an insurance policy which matches their requirements. For those who possess and lease or rent a property for a third party to conduct business from, commercial landlord insurance is crucial. For those who are letting residential property the insurances are similar to home contents and building insurance.

If you own a flat, building or structure, and you intend to lease it, it is important to find the right coverage. It is important to understand the difference between building and contents. Consider the buildings coverage as something that you couldn’t take with you to another home or property. For example if you have a fixed laminated floor you would not take this with you and therefore this would be covered under buildings insurance. However, think about the carpets, furnishings, and the curtains. What is the right cover for these items?

These will squarely be categorized as part of your contents coverage. Even if it is a carpet and you do not want to carry it with you as you move to another residence, it will be classified as contents insurance since, if you wished, you could take it with the rest of your belongings.

This is very relevant when it comes to residential lease properties. If you own a block of apartments/flats or a house converted into flats you will need to consider how your communal areas are covered by your insurance.

Whether your property is let furnished or unfurnished is also a factor. An insurance service provider and a letting representative will differ in their interpretation of the word “unequipped” or “unfurnished”. So if fit out your properties with carpets, tiles, curtains, or items such as freezers, fridges, washing machines, dishwashers, et cetera, you should have coverage for these items.

The premiums for your contents insurance will be a little more costly than your buildings insurance as contents are more vulnerable to theft and/or damage. The importance must be underlined however. The most common damage occurring in residential properties is from water, either from burst pipes or storms. Without contents insurance the expense in clearing up water damage can be considerable.

Remember also, your contents insurance is only covering your contents and not the possessions of your tenants. Their possessions must be covered by contents insurance purchased in their own name.

It is important to understand whether you need residential or commercial landlord insurance and what coverage you need. There is plenty of easily accessible information to help you work it out so make use of it and ensure your property is well protected.

Residential and commercial landlord insurance is available at Landlordbuddy

http://www.landlordbuddy.co.uk/

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Top tips for property portfolio insurance and other forms of landlords cover

Here are a few ideas on the subject of things such as property portfolio insurance and general landlords insurance cover.

You may find them useful.

If you have more than one property, consider property portfolio insurance

There are two main reasons why you may wish to consider this:

• trying to deal with multiple insurers through multiple policies, may end up occupying larger chunks of your precious time in replicated administration than is necessary;

• obviously, you may be able to demand a better deal through economies of scale in terms of placing all of your business with one insurer.

Once you have administered your property cover through a single property portfolio insurance approach, you may end up wondering why you did not do it sooner.

Read the detail of the cover carefully before you make your final purchasing decision

There may be very significant differences between the quality and depth of cover offered by one policy versus another.

It may be difficult to get any sense of this if your only review entails looking at the price of the landlords insurance quote and then deciding whether or not to move onto the next quotation based upon that alone.

To take just a single example, one policy may offer buildings cover against the risks of subsidence as standard, whereas another may not do so.

If you read the policy and make a conscious decision that you do not wish to take subsidence cover, then that is an informed decision.  However, the absence of subsidence cover may not be something you will wish to discover for the first time, only when a builder or surveyor has just told you that your property is suffering from it.

Look for cost reduction opportunities

Unless money is of no concern to you, you may find it beneficial to look at what scope a landlords insurance policy may offer for reducing the premium.

Classic examples might include:

• agreeing to a higher voluntary excess;

• taking further steps to improve the safety and security of your property (examples might include the fitting of burglar alarms etc);

• reducing the total sum insured of your contents (though it may not be advisable to reduce it below cost of actual replacement).

Steps such as these plus, if appropriate, the above-mentioned property portfolio insurance, may end up with you being able to keep more of your money in your pocket.

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When might you need unoccupied property insurance?

If your property has been standing empty for a period in excess of 30 days, then you may wish to check your buy to let insurance policy documentation to ensure that your cover has not lapsed, as you have exceeded the maximum number of consecutive days that your property may stand empty:

• with some let property insurance policies this limit may be set at 45 consecutive days while in others it may be slightly lower at 30 days;
• once your property has passed this limit, its risk profile changes and it may require unoccupied property insurance;
• insurance policies may have their own specific terms and conditions governing what is and is not covered and when;
• even if you purchase your unoccupied property insurance policy from the same provider as your buy to let property insurance, it may not be wise to assume that the terms and conditions will be the same;
• this may particularly be the case with unoccupied home cover which might require, for example, that the property is visited regularly so that maintenance and repair work can be carried out;
• you may also be asked to keep a log or diary record of these visits noting the date and the work carried out;
• unoccupied property insurance terms and conditions may also recommend the  draining down of heating and water systems, keeping the garden tidy with the grass cut and rubbish cleared up;
• the use of lighting on timer switches to give the property a more lived in look may also appear in the list of precautionary steps that may typically help to deter thieves;
• checking the level of contents cover in an unoccupied property insurance quote may also typically be a sensible precaution, as you may find that the cover offered may not be to the same level as that for standard let property insurance – it may only just be common sense to remove high value items from a property that is empty for prolonged periods of time;
• the reasons that your property has no tenants in it may typically not matter much when it comes to empty property cover – whether the vacancy is within your control  ( renovations or refurbishment for example) or not  ( you are having problems finding tenants)  the insurance requirements typically remain the same;
• it is not just landlords being singled out though – owner-occupied properties may also require unoccupied property insurance as their risk profile may typically change too if the property is empty.

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