Buy to Let (BTL) property insurance (also known as Landlords’ insurance) is needed to protect you from potentially huge financial outlay in the case of something going wrong with your rental property. It is important that you have thorough cover in place for your own peace of mind. Below are some of the different insurances that can make up comprehensive BTL property insurance , and why it make sense financially to consolidate these various policies.
Landlords’ Building Insurance
Landlords’ building insurance is one of the most important types of cover you will need as a landlord, as it insures the actual property itself against damage caused by flood or fire, for instance. This could include covering the rebuilding cost of the building, replacing fitted furniture such as kitchen units or bathroom suites and possibly also replacing outbuildings such as sheds or garages. You will often find that lenders require you to have landlords’ building insurance in order to get a buy-to-let mortgage.
Landlords’ Content Insurance
Whereas the building insurance protects the actual building itself, landlords’ content insurance protects what is kept inside the property. This is particularly important if you rent your property out partly or fully furnished, as it will cover the cost of replacing your furniture, carpets, etc in the event of them being damaged or stolen. You can get policies that will replace your contents on a new for old basis if a claim is made and can also get extra cover for accidental damage, which may be worthwhile in certain circumstances.
This doesn’t need to cover your tenant’s contents as they can take out their own policy in this regard.
Landlords’ Liability Insurance
This insures you as a landlord against claims made against you for injury sustained by your tenants (and possibly those visiting the tenants) on your property, for instance if someone trips over a badly maintained part of the property. If your property is commercial and/or has members of the public using it then you are even more at risk of claims due to accidents.
Other Insurances
Loss of rent, legal expenses and landlords’ home emergency cover are other types of insurance that can be useful to protect you as a landlord and which you might like to consider.
Consolidating Your BTL Property Insurance
With so many different insurances to cover, it makes sense sense to consolidate these under one policy where possible, or with one insurer, for several reasons.
Firstly it makes it much easier to compare policies when everything is included under one umbrella, rather than having to compare different policies for each individual type of insurance, with the various exclusions and inclusions each one contains. This in turns helps you to pick the best deals and ensure you have the best possible coverage for your premium. You can also avoid having duplicate insurance for the same things on different policies.
Secondly you may find that the policy for one type of insurance can be extended to encompass other types at a smaller cost than having completely separate policies. It’s also worth checking whether you would have a single (probably larger) excess if all the insurances are under one policy and whether this makes better financial sense for you or not.
And finally it is easier to manage one consolidated set of insurances than several different ones as you’ll only have one renewal date and one port of call if you need to contact the insurer. It also makes you a bigger fish with that insurance company, so you may well get better service and better deals.
The same applies if you have several buy to let properties that need insuring. Consolidating them all under one policy can reduce your premiums, help you ensure you’re getting the best bang for your buck and give you less paperwork to worry about.
If you need landlords’ insurance for your property or properties, why not give Goldcrest a call and see what we can do for you?
