Insurance for Landlords

Insurance for landlords

Insurance for landlords is important and getting the right insurance product even more so.

A landlord’s property, whether residential or commercial, will be exposed to all the usual property-owner risks such as fire, flood and subsidence. Unfortunately; unlike a private property owner, the landlord also has additional risks that arise as a result of the use of their property for rental purposes.

Just a sample of these can make worrying reading.

• Tenants can accidentally or maliciously damage a property;
• Fixtures, fittings and contents can also be damaged or stolen;
• Tenants, third parties visiting tenants or people using a commercial property, may have the legal right to sue the landlord in some situations for injuries arising from accidents on the premises and court awards following such incidents can be very high.
• That’s to say nothing of the separate category of risk that arises if the property is unoccupied for a period of time and subject to vandalism as a result or if it is empty while being renovated / decorated.

All told, having good insurance for landlords may be critically important for all these reasons. It is also important to select the right product because it would be very dangerous to rely on non-specialised insurance policies.

That’s because although in some cases the tenants may have their own insurance, it may in practice prove difficult to fully validate this and even more difficult to claim against it following an incident. Nor can the landlord rely on their normal personal ‘owner-occupier’ buildings and contents insurance.

Specialist cover required

Few, if any, insurance policies designed for the owner-occupier will cover a property that is being rented out – even if it is a private dwelling being offered as a holiday rental. The penalties for fraudulent declarations can be severe including claims refused and being registered as someone that makes false declarations. This could make it difficult to obtain any type of insurance in future. Making false declarations in the event of an actual claim is fraud and can result in criminal prosecution.

Fortunately, good, comprehensive insurance for landlords is available and sold by insurance providers that specialise in this type of cover. Whether the property is residential or commercial, a large block, or a single dwelling rented out for holidays, there will be a policy to meet the needs of most landlords. The specialist providers also have the expertise and can help advise on the best policy in a certain cirumstance. Given the complexities of insurance, using this expertise may be a good idea.