Landlords, is your rental property fully protected?

When you start renting a property to tenants, a standard home insurance policy will no longer offer the sufficient amount of cover. As a landlord, it’s likely that you’ll need to buy specialist buy-to-let insurance.

Like regular home insurance, this will help protect the actual structure of the building if it’s damaged e.g. by a house fire or flood. If you’ve furnished the property, you might also want to put some contents insurance in place to protect your furniture and carpets etc.
However, buy-to-let insurance goes quite a bit further. Most policies will include some or all of the following elements of cover:

Rent guarantee cover

This can help make sure you’re not left out of pocket due to lost rent rental payments. For example, it could help you manage financially if your tenants failed to meet their rent installments or your property became uninhabitable for some reason.

Landlord liability

If faced with a compensation claim, liability insurance could be absolutely essential. If a tenant or member of the public was injured at your property and you were found to be at fault, you may need to pay compensation. Something like a dodgy light fitting could result in a large pay-out.

Employers’ liability

If you employ people to help you manage and maintain a rental portfolio, this type of cover is probably a legal requirement. If one of your workers was injured while undertaking a job for you, they may decide to sue. This type of cover could help you meet compensation costs.

Legal expenses

If you became embroiled in a dispute with a tenant or had a problem with squatters, you may need legal assistance. Unexpected legal cost can be a big financial drain without the right insurance.