Are you a landlord and unsure if you need landlord insurance? Can regular house insurance do the job if something was to go wrong in one of your rental properties?
When renting out a property you do not have a full view of anything that may be wrong or going wrong within the property and a tenant will be unlikely to take the same care of the property as you the owner.
Public Liability Insurance
Home Insurance will cover you if a postman trips and injures himself on the property, but, renting out a property is considered a business. This means that if a tenant trips on a loose tile and injures themselves they may be able to claim against you. Having Public Liability Insurance means you will be covered against any claims awarded to the tenant.
Alternative Accommodation Insurance
If there was a reason (insurance event) that meant your tenants could not live in the property then Alternative Accommodation Insurance will pay for the tenant to live at another property for the duration it takes to get the damaged property back to a liveable condition.
Loss of Rent Insurance
If your property is to take damage and becomes unliveable in (due to an insured event) your tenant will not be required to continue paying rent. At this point you are not covered by a home insurance policy and you will need a specific landlord insurance policy.
Malicious Damage Insurance
Not all tenants look after their rental properties like they should, some may even vandalise the properties. In this case malicious damage insurance will pay to fix the property. This is not something that is covered through house insurance.
Legal Expenses
Again, home insurance may cover you if a tradesman comes to your house and does not carry out the work they should do. You can take legal action and the cost is covered. But, it does not cover you as a landlord if your tenant refuses to pay rent. You will need landlord insurance to cover the cost of taking the tenant to court.
Unoccupied Property Insurance
If your property is likely to be unoccupied from time to time? Make sure you check with your insurance providers to see if you are covered. Home insurance will not cover unoccupied property.
