Landlord Insurance Claims Advice

Trying to navigate the landlord insurance claim process can feel daunting, especially if it is your first time having to do so. It’s easy to feel as though your income is being threatened, but knowing how to file a claim correctly is one of the most important things for landlords. Here, we’ll give you comprehensive and valuable landlord insurance claims advice so that, should disaster strike, you’re prepared. 

Filing a claim correctly is crucial because failing to do so will lead to reduced payouts, delays and repairs, or even denial of your claim. 

Claiming on landlord insurance the right way

There are a few things that need to be considered when beginning the landlord insurance claims process, such as your immediate response and being able to document everything correctly. Let‘s take a look at how to claim on your landlord insurance the successful way. 

Immediate response 

Your next steps immediately after an incident are the most important, both for the safety of your tenants and the insurance claim itself. Here’s what you should do straight away: 

Prioritise safety and secure the scene

• Tenant safety: Make sure that the well-being of your tenants is immediately taken care of. If the property is severely damaged due to a fire or flood, you need to evacuate your tenants safely. 
• Damage control: It is your responsibility to prevent any further damage by taking reasonable steps, such as turning off the main water supply for a burst pipe, shutting off damaged utilities, or boarding up broken windows to prevent theft or weather damage. 

Crucial warning:  You should only perform temporary, protective repairs. You should not be performing permanent structural repairs before actually consulting with your insurance provider, as this can invalidate your claim. 

Document everything

• Immediate photography: Ensure that you take detailed photographs and videos of all of the areas that have been affected by the disaster. Also, make sure these are all time-stamped. If able, take photographs/videos of the cause of the disaster, too. Make sure you take before and after shots of any temporary work you’ve tried to implement, too. 

• Police/official report: if the incident involves a crime, you’ll need to file a police report immediately and obtain a crime reference number. Crime involves theft, vandalism or malicious damage to the property. 

Notify your insurer promptly

• Time is critical: Most of the time, policies will have a strict time limit for reporting any loss, so you’ll need to notify your insurance provider as soon as possible, even if you don’t have all of the details yet. 
• Get a claim number: Once you have filed a report, you’ll receive a claim number that can be used in all future correspondence. 

Understanding your policy and coverage 

A lot of the time,  claiming on landlords’ insurance can be rejected by your insurance provider is down to a misunderstanding of the terms of the policy. So, it’s important to review your documents immediately. 

Know your coverage

The first step in understanding your policy is to know whether or not the cause of the damage is actually covered. For example, standard landlord insurance will cover fire and storms but will usually exclude flood, subsidence and damage resulting from general wear and tear or any gradual issues like rot or mould. 

Accidental vs. malicious damage

The next step in claiming on landlords insurance is to understand whether the damage caused was done accidentally or maliciously.  If your insurance claim involves tenants, you need to check to see if the policy includes accidental damage or malicious damage caused by tenants. Most of the time, these are optional add-ons. 

Policy excess (deductible)

Make sure that you know the amount of money that you’ll need to pay before the insurer contributes. Sometimes, it is not worth claiming the damage cost if it is close to or less than your excess. 

Loss of rent / alternative accommodation

If the damage caused is so great that the property is uninhabitable, you’ll need to check to see if your policy includes cover for loss of rent or the cost of paying for alternative accommodation whilst repairs are going on. 

The documentation and submission stage

Now is the time when your documentation comes in handy because the adjuster will need concrete evidence to be able to process your landlord insurance claim as part of the process. 

• Detailed inventory and costs: create a list of all of the damaged items, along with the repair costs and extent of the damage caused. Make sure you include dates of purchase and receipts. 
• Proof of cause: provide reports from professionals confirming the cause of damage.
• Do not discard damaged items: the insurer may want to inspect the damaged items to be able to assess the claim, so make sure you keep hold of them until instructed otherwise.
• Pitfall to avoid: do not exaggerate the claim and only claim for genuine damage or losses that have occurred due to the incident. Exaggeration or fraud can lead to the whole claim being rejected. 

Working with the adjuster and settlement

The loss adjuster is the person appointed by the insurance provider to verify the claim and to calculate the payout. Don’t be alarmed if the adjuster wants to come to the property to look at the damage caused. Make sure that you have all of your documentation easily accessible, and be factual and honest when answering any questions they may have. 

Try to understand how your items will be valued, too. Most policies will pay out in accordance with the replacement cost (the amount it will cost to repair the item) or actual cash value (which is the replacement cost minus the depreciation). 

Once you have the settlement offer, make sure that you review it carefully. If you believe that the amount offered is insufficient, you’re able to negotiate this, but make sure your reasoning is accurate. You can provide competing professional quotes for the repair work as evidence. 

If you fail to reach an agreement with the adjuster, you can consider hiring an independent loss assessor. They are professionals who work for you and can challenge any unfair valuations or claim denials. 

So, are you looking to review your landlord insurance policy? If so, be sure to get in touch with us at  CIA Landlord Insurance, and we’ll be available to help you every step of the way.

For more information on managing your rental property efficiently, feel free to visit our advice centre. Otherwise, make sure to get in touch with our friendly team of experts at CIA Landlord Insurance on 01788 818 670.