Landlord Building Insurance

Landlord building insurance

If you’re a landlord, taking out landlord building insurance may be something that is worth considering. That’s because whether your property is commercial, residential or a mixture of both, it will be exposed to risks. Landlord buildings cover is essential for your pice of mind and property securtity.

There are the usual risks associated with natural causes such as flood, fire, subsidence and these days, to those must be added the possibility of terrorism.

Then there are the unintentional accidents that involve the tenants. Although in theory some tenants may be covered by their own insurance, in practice obtaining settlement of claims made against tenants may not be easy. Relying on their insurance to cover your costs may be something of a gamble.

There are also those risks that are peculiar to a landlord, including the possibility that your building may suffer damage through tenant neglect (e.g. leaks) or wilful and malicious damage. This can arise whether your property is being let for residential or commercial use.

In all the above cases, it would be a serious mistake to rely on basic residential homeowners insurance. These policies will rarely provide buildings insurance for properties that are being used for anything other than the policyholder’s main place of residence. The moment the building becomes used for rental purposes, any existing residential insurance is highly likely to be invalid.

There are specialist providers of landlord building insurance policies that are experts in this field. They will have the answers to those puzzling questions such as:

• When is a rental commercial or residential?
• What happens if the property is used for a variety of rentals that are a mixture of commercial and residential?
• Is insurance still valid if the property is empty and un-let?
• Will the insurance cover a property that is under renovation?

In practice, landlord building insurance is one of a variety of policies sold by the specialist landlord insurance providers. They will be able to professionally assess your needs and make recommendations accordingly. These policies are very flexible and can accommodate cover for things that include not only buildings cover but also contents and a wide variety of other risks. It may be worth having a look at some of these products to become familiar with your options for covering those sometimes worrying risks.