BUY TO LET HOUSE INSURANCE

Investment in buy to let property has seen a notable resurgence in recent years – thanks in no small part to a troubled housing market and to the burgeoning demand for rented accommodation.

If you are looking to take advantage of these market conditions and invest in such property, you also need to consider the importance of buy to let house insurance.

Just as the name suggests, this is the insurance cover which provides protection against the physical risks and perils to which your investment property is vulnerable, and also against some of the liabilities which may affect your financial standing as its landlord.

Why do you need buy to let house insurance?

Buy to let house insurance is quite distinct from the standard building and contents insurance which an owner occupier might arrange for his or her home.

The buy to let property represents a business investment which relies upon the generation of rental income from tenants. And the property’s occupation by tenants throws up a wholly different range of risks and perils which insurers need to take into account.

So different are these risks and perils that if you rely on simple home building and contents insurance for a property that is in fact let out to tenants, you are likely to find any claim you subsequently make is rejected by your insurer.

What you need to know when buying cover

This is the critical difference you need to know about this specialist form of buy to let insurance when buying the cover. You need to know, therefore, what risks are likely to be included and which might sometimes be excluded from any buy to let house insurance you buy:

The building and its contents

• at the core of a buy to let insurance policy is likely to be protection for the structure and fabric of the house itself, and any contents you own, against a wide range of physical threats from events as disparate as fire, explosions, subsidence, flooding, smoke damage, escape of water, impacts, vandalism and theft;
• if there is a history or known risk of events such as subsidence or flooding, however, an insurer may exclude cover for these perils, or change an additional premium;

Landlord liability

• as the landlord of a buy to let house, you have a particular responsibility for ensuring that no tenant, visitor or member of the public is injured or has their property damaged as a result of your actions – or your inactions – as a landlord;
• since claims arising from your alleged negligence of this duty of care may reach very substantial amounts, buy to let insurance typically includes indemnity against claims of at least £1 million;

Loss of rental income

• you might also want to be assured that in the event of a significant insured event leaving your buy to let house temporarily uninhabitable that your insurance provides an element of compensation for any loss of rental income.

Why choose us?

If you want advice on the specialist form of cover that is by to let house insurance, you might want to draw on our expertise and experience here at UKinsuranceNET.