Landlord Insurance for Short Term Rentals

Buy to Let Insurance

Owning property is something that comes with a lot of responsibility. You have to ensure that the properties you let out are both safe to live in and are properly protected. The way to protect your property is by getting a good buy to let insurance policy from a reputable insurance provider. Before taking out a buy landlord insurance for short term rentals it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the different insurance options that are available so you can make an informed decision.

Below you’ll find a full explanation of the different types of insurance you can get with a buy to let policy as well as ways that you can save money on your insurance.

Insurance Options

• Contents Cover – If you let your property either fully or partly furnished then getting your contents covered is always a good idea. This will cover you if your contents are damaged or stolen, whether by a tenant or someone else. A lot of landlords like to offer their properties furnished in an attempt to attract tenants so if you do this yourself then contents cover is always something you should strongly consider.
  
• Building Insurance – This will cover your properties in the event of structural damage. Structural damage can be extremely expensive to repair so building insurance is an absolute necessity. If you own property then it’s also a legal requirement that you have building insurance in place.
• Unoccupied Property Insurance –There are times when every landlord has unoccupied property in their portfolio. Unoccupied property is at considerably greater risk of being broken into or vandalized. When you own unoccupied property then you can get unoccupied property insurance to protect yourself against these risks.
  
• Loss of Rent – There are times when you may have to deal with difficult tenants who are unable or unwilling to pay rent. In this event you could be losing a significant amount of money. Loss of rent will compensate you until you’re able to resolve the issue with your tenant. This is extremely useful and takes away some of the stress of dealing with difficult tenants that do not pay.
• Liability Claims – Liability claims can be very costly if they go against you so it’s always a good idea to get public liability insurance included in your policy. A liability claim is something that you can’t predict and even if you are very selective with your tenants, you don’t want to take the chance of having a liability claim go against you without any cover in place.
• Legal Fees – If you do have to fight a liability claim then the legal fees can soon add up. Having this option included in your policy just gives you that extra peace of mind that should you need to hire a solicitor to fight your corner, the expenses will be taken care of as part of your insurance.

The Benefits of Buy to Let Insurance

Some of the benefits of getting buy to let insurance include –

• Easy to manage policy – When you take out a buy to let policy you can have multiple properties included and have all the insurance options added that you need. This makes things very easy to manage and cuts down on your paperwork – ideal for busy landlords.
  
• All properties covered – You can get different types of properties covered included semi-detached, detached and terraced houses as well as flats. You can also insure multiple types of properties under one policy.
  
• Highly tailored policies – A big advantage of getting insurance online from a specialist provider is that you can very easily add options to your policy to make it as tailored as possible.
  
• Expert advice – You might want to speak to an adviser to find out more information about a particular type of cover or find out which cover is best for you. This is certainly possible as there’s always someone available to talk to.
  
• Flexible payment options – You’re able to pay using any UK credit or debit card and policies are extremely easy to set up.
  
• Instant cover – As soon as you pay for your policy, your property will be covered and you’ll be provided with the correct documentation.

Ways to Save Money

When you’re looking to take out a buy to let insurance policy, you’ll certainly want to get the best price possible. Below are some excellent ways that you can keep the cost of your policy as low as possible.

• Pay annually – When most people pay for insurance, they do it on a monthly basis. This makes sense as it makes things more manageable financially. Whilst paying monthly is the norm, the truth is that you can save a significant amount of money if you’re able to pay for your policy on an annual basis. Insurance providers usually much prefer this and as a result, you’ll usually be able to save a very decent amount of money on your insurance.
• Make your properties secure – The security of your property is a big factor that insurance providers will take into account when coming up with a price for your policy. If you property is not particularly secure then it puts it at much greater risk of being broken into and vandalized. Excellent ways to make your property more secure are having good quality locks fitted as well as alarms and CCTV. If you have unoccupied property then you should try to find a house sitter to make it more secure.
  
• Get multiple quotes – Getting multiple quotes is one of the best ways to save money on buy to let insurance. It will enable you get compare policies very easily and pick the one that’s right for you.