Landlord Insurance

Landlord Insurance FAQs

• What is an interested party?

  An interested party is any other person or organisation with a financial interest in the property, such as a mortgage provider.

  An interested party – also known as an ‘additional interest’ – is a person or company other than the named insured on an insurance policy, which has an insurable interest in the person or property that the policy covers.

  More information on interested parties

• What is Landlord Insurance?

  Landlord insurance is a specialist product that covers landlords from damage costs and various different financial losses that come with the territory of being a landlord. Amongst all the positives, unfortunately, there’s a lot that can go wrong when you’re a landlord that can in turn, cost you a lot of money.

  With that in mind, your landlord insurance policy is really important for any landlord. Buildings insurance and contents insurance are usually the main types of cover that a landlord will need, however a lot of other landlord-specific covers can be added onto a policy, such as legal expenses insurance and alternative accommodation expenses.

  More information on landlord insurance

• Do I insure my property from exchange or completion?

  Insurance is usually offered from exchange, but you should be guided by your solicitor on the exact date to start your policy.

  When you are purchasing a house – whether to live in yourself or as a buy-to-let investment – there is a potential grey area between the exchange of contracts and the completion of the sale. It is during this period that you will have signed a contract committing you to purchase the property, but the house will not technically be yours yet as you wait for other aspects of the sale process to be undertaken, such as the conveyancing.

  More information on exchange or completion insurance

• Do I need a tenancy agreement?

  Most of our insurers ask for a direct tenancy agreement to be in place for a minimum of 6 months.

  As a general rule, you can expect to need to have a tenancy agreement in place before being permitted to take out any kind of landlord insurance. Nonetheless, it is advisable to consult the small print of your contract and ask questions of the insurer before purchasing.

  More information on tenancy agreements

• Do I have to have landlord insurance?

  No, you don’t need to take out landlord insurance, however, a lot of mortgage lenders may insist you have it before you begin renting to tenants. Just because it’s not mandatory, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t take it out.

  Landlord insurance is really important for any landlord. It will help to safeguard your financial future and protect your investment from damage, problematic tenants and other unexpected costs. It gives you the peace of mind that situations out of your control will be covered under your policy.

  Read more here…

• How much does landlord insurance cost per month?

  In 2018, the average cost of landlord insurance was £217 a year, down from £230 last year. That being said, it’s difficult to predict the cost of landlord insurance because there are many different variables that will contribute towards the price of a premium.

  Read more….

• How to get cheaper landlord insurance

  When you’re looking for your perfect landlord insurance, you’re going to want to get the best price. No landlord wants to be paying over the odds for their insurance – especially when you hope you’ll never have to actually claim on it.

  If you have multiple properties, then make sure you insure them all with one provider. You’ll probably be eligible for a discount. Plus, it makes everything much more streamlined and simple with a lot less paperwork.

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• Is a landlord insurance legally required?

  There is no legal obligation for a landlord to take out landlord insurance, however, you might not get very far without it. You’ll usually need written permission from your lender before you take on tenants (unless you have a buy-to-let mortgage), and your lender is likely to require that you have landlord insurance before you do so.

  Even though you’ve probably got a conventional home insurance policy, this won’t be enough to cover you if your property becomes a rental. In fact, a lot of home insurance policies will become void if the property is being used as a rental, meaning that you won’t be able to make a claim.

• What if I want to rent out more than one property?

  If you have an existing landlord insurance policy, you will be able to take out multiple-property landlord insurance with us. Sometimes also referred to as portfolio insurance, this covers landlords with three or more properties. It covers all types of properties, including blocks of flats let out on either a residential or commercial basis.

  Multi-property landlord insurance is designed to save landlords time and money. Having one policy that covers all properties means there’s that only one payment and one renewal per year to think about, and the multi-property discount means that sometimes it’s cheaper than taking out individual insurance policies for each property. Click here to find out more about our multi-property landlord insurance.

• What is covered by my landlord insurance?

  Your landlord policy can be as basic or as extensive as you need it to be. Our landlord insurance can include buildings only, contents only or a combined policy if required.

  Buildings insurance covers the cost of repairing or rebuilding your property if it becomes damaged by fire, flooding or vandalism, and contents insurance covers household items left for the tenants use such as furniture and appliances in situations such as theft, fire and flood. This cover does not protect your tenant’s belongings or items you may have left in storage at the property that is not for the tenants use.

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• What type of landlord insurance do I need?

  There are a few different insurance options for landlords. Which one you choose will depend on the specific risks you feel that it’s most important to cover against. The most common product and the one that we sell here at CIA Insurance is buildings and/or contents insurance. It’s also the most complex and extensive.

  Our landlord insurance can include either buildings only, contents only or both if required. The other benefits of our policy can include loss of rent, accidental damage, malicious damage or theft by tenants, employers liability, property owners liability and unoccupied property cover.

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