What Kind of Homeowners Insurance Do I Need for a Rental Property?

What Kind of Homeowners Insurance Do I Need for a Rental Property?

Rented property insurance is a must for anyone who lets property. The risks associated with letting property are too great to simply leave things to chance. Not only do you have to worry about the upkeep of your buildings but there are also issues that can arise with tenants that can be very tricky if you don’t have protection in place. So you can think: What kind of homeowners insurance do i need for a rental property?

The good news is that finding rented property insurance is now easier than ever with many insurance providers offering this type of cover. When looking for rented property insurance it’s a good idea to know exactly what type of cover you want.

Cover Options

Contents Insurance

When you let your property with your own furnishings and contents you have to accept that this comes with a certain amount of risk. Depending on the value of the contents it can be a very good idea to get them covered in your policy. It’s always possible that your contents could be damaged or stolen and often you don’t realise this until the tenant has moved out. It’s always best to protect your most valuable contents as part of your insurance.

Public Liability

Liability claims are something that every landlord must be wary of. Ensuring your buildings adhere to safety standards is the best way to avoid this but it’s always good to have cover in place in case you need it. If a member of public or one of your tenants were to be injured or worse because your property is unsafe then there’s a good chance you’d have to make a pay out and without having cover in place this could be devastating.

Unoccupied property insurance

If you have any unoccupied property then this type of cover is a must. Unoccupied property is at much greater risk of theft and vandalism so it’s essential to protect it. It’s always better to try to keep property occupied whenever possible because even though you’ll be covered, it’s better to avoid having to make a lot of claims, which will cause your premium to increase.

Loss of rent

When there are disputes around rent, it can be very frustrating unless you have cover in place to protect yourself. This is why so many landlords are now adding loss of rent to their policy. Loss of rent will compensate you in the event that a tenant refuses or is unable to pay rent and you have to wait to get them evicted.

The Benefits of Rented Property Insurance

There are a lot of benefits of getting rented property insurance online. These include:

Cover all your property with one policy 

If you have multiple properties that you want to insure then you’re able to do this by adding them to the same policy. Being able to insure all your properties under one policy makes things much easier to manage and is a great way to save money too.

All types of cover

You can choose exactly what type of cover you have included in your policy. If you want to protect your contents and add rent guarantee then this is not a problem. If you’re more worried about liability claims then you can also add public liability and legal expenses to your policy.

Save time

Getting quotes online is by far the easiest way of doing things. It’s so quick and easy to do and you’ll save yourself a lot of time and hassle that you’d have contacting insurance providers separately.

Save money

By getting a lot of quotes from different insurance providers, you can easily see which policies offer you a good deal and which do not.

Commercial and residential properties accepted

Often landlords will have a mix of commercial and residential properties that they need to insure. If this is the case then it’s no problem – the providers on the panel provide cover both commercial and residential properties.

Easy payment methods

When you choose to get a policy from one of the insurance providers on the panel, then you can have your policy up and running in no time. You can pay using any UK credit or debit card, or set up your policy with direct debit – the choice is yours.

Instant documentation

The moment that you have paid for your policy you’ll be covered and you’ll have documentation sent to you immediately.

Saving Money 

When you take out a rented property insurance policy, it’s always a good idea to take any steps you can to get the price down. Below are some of the most reliable ways that you can save money on rented property insurance.

Make properties secure

One of the best ways to lower the cost of your premium is to make any properties you plan to add to your policy as secure as possible. Taking steps such as installing secure windows and doors as well as intruder alarms will go a long way to reducing the cost of your rented property insurance.

Insure multiple properties

If you have multiple properties that you need to insure then you’re usually able to save a good deal of money buy insuring them under the same policy rather than individually. Most insurance providers give you the ability to do this so it’s always something you should consider.

Pay upfront

If you can afford to pay for your policy on annual basis as opposed to monthly then you’ll usually be able to request a good discount. Insurance providers prefer when you can pay for your policy upfront so this is certainly one of the best ways you can save money.

Get multiple quotes

By far the most reliable way to ensure you get a good deal on rented property insurance is by getting multiple quotes. This is now easier than ever to do and could save you a lot of money.