Landlord Insurance

So what is landlord insurance? Well, in a nutshell, it exactly the same as a normal home policy but for a house that is rented out. If you own a property that is let to tenants, you are the landlord and hence need a landlords insurance policy.

There are a few key differences between the cover on a landlord policy and a standard house buildings and contents policy. The most obvious of these is cover for damage caused by the tenant. A home insurance policy will exclude this purely because it is for a house that is not let to tenants whereas a landlord insurance policy will normally have this included or at least the option to add it if required.

Everything else is basically the same with most normal policies including the usual fire, storm, flood, escape of water, etc. An important inclusion is that of property owner's liability cover. Both types of policy will usually have this cover but as a landlord you will want to see this even more so due to the fact that the tenant could injure themselves while in your home which you may be liable for.

One common misconception is that a landlord insurance quote is more expensive than a home insurance quote but this is not really the case. Cover seems greater in a landlord policy but when comparing the two you will notice that in both cases cover is included or not included where appropriate, not to reduce ones cover, but to only include it where necessary. Consequently premium quotations tend to be similar to each other.

Malicious Damage by Tenant

One common problem with landlord insurance policies is cover for malicious damage by the tenant. Landlords will often assume it is covered until they come to claim and find out it is not standard with most insurers. Thankfully here at Ashburnham Insurance, most of our insurers include Malicious Damage by the tenant as standard.

What is Malicious Damage by the Tenant cover?

Simply speaking, it is damage to your property caused by your tenant that was not classed as accidental. Examples of which could be your tenant purposely smashing windows or kicking holes in doors.

Am I Covered for Malicious Damage?

Almost every landlord insurance company will provide you with cover for malicious damage but most will then go on to exclude any malicious damage by the tenant. Ensure you read the policy wording carefully to see if you have adequate cover.

Do I Have to Pay Extra for Malicious Damage by the Tenant?

At the time of writing, Ashburnham Insurance deal with 8 leading UK landlord insurance companies and 7 of these include Malicious Damage by the Tenant cover in their standard policy at no extra cost.

Why Don't Other Companies Have This Cover?

Well we can't answer that question. All we can say is that most companies don't provide the cover yet it is one of the most common types of claim on a landlord insurance policy. We would always encourage a landlord to have this cover even if you think you tenant would never do anything like that to your property because it does happen. Thankfully, we can give you this cover as standard with most of our insurers.

Landlord Advice

As a landlord you will want the best advice on all aspects of your let property. If you have friends or family who are also landlords then they can be a great source of information, especially if you are a new landlord on a buy-to-let venture. If you don't have this benefit then the internet is your first point of call.

There are many valuable information sites out there especially for landlord insurance. The insurance sites will give you advice on what cover you should expect to receive along with examples of claims and other such related issues. You will normally be able to find details of places to get the best quotes at the touch of a button.

For information about tenants, rent, property in general and other aspects of your landlords lifestyle then there are many a forum out there to answer those questions. Experienced landlords are always the best people to ask as they have the knowledge and forums are the place to find them. Never be afraid to ask questions as every landlord has been a novice landlord as some point.

Affiliate Advertising Welcome

Ashburnham Insurance is pleased to announce that we now accept affiliate advertising. If you have a website or have other means of advertising our main products then we are able to pay commission for new policies taken out that were referred by you.

The main insurance products we offer is:

• Landlords Insurance
• Buy to Let Insurance
  
• Public Liability Insurance
• Employers Liability Insurance

Unique affiliate links will be provided together with wording and logos if required. For further details please contact Steve Smith at web@ashburnham-insurance.co.uk or on 01702 347400 and full details will be provided.