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It’s a requirement set by your mortgage provider that you have insurance for your buildings. Your property should be insured (including outbuildings and fitted interior units) against all insurable risks to cover full replacement or repair costs, including the cost of clearing the site in the case of complete destruction.
When getting a quote for insurance, you’ll need to provide the replacement cost to rebuild your property. The replacement cost isn’t the same as the market value of the property, or the price you paid for it. If you are unsure of the replacement cost, you should get a chartered building surveyor to do a professional valuation or visit the Association of British Insurers (ABI) website. They have a buildings cost calculator you can use to get a value for your property.
You must remember, before you can let your property to tenants, you need to make sure your paperwork is up to date with your mortgage lender. The paperwork will need to specify that you have permission to let the property. Without this, your insurance could become void in the event of a claim.
Buildings insurance covers your property (including outbuildings and fitted interior units) against loss or damage caused by:
- Fire
- Theft
- Vandalism
- Lightning
- Oil or water leakage
- Smoke
- Storm (excludes gates and fences)
- Subsidence
- Burst pipes
- Impact from vehicles, falling trees, animals, aircraft, aerials and masts
- Civil commotion
- Earthquake
For more information from Endsleigh for your landlords buildings insurance, please click here.
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On the property your rent out, you don’t normally need full contents cover. This is where many landlords have the wrong type of policy!
If you were getting insurance for the property you live in you would need to cover everything in your house including your personal effects and valuables. When renting out to tenants, you’d typically be responsible for much less contents within the property, particularly when the property is let un-furnished or partially furnished.
Whether you rent or lease your property you can choose the level of cover you need, from £5,000 to £30,000, against fire and theft. This cover includes furniture, household utensils, kitchen electrical equipment and soft furnishings. Your cover can also be extended to include accidental damage.
Home emergency insurance can also be added to your policy to cover the loss of essential services in your property.
Click here for more information on Endsleigh contents insurance.
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Some insurers see students as higher risk tenants. At Endsleigh we see the very opposite. We’ve developed a product for landlords who specifically rent to students. In addition to giving a 10% discount, Endsleigh’s policy will cover your property while it is unoccupied for up to 120 days!
You can also add home emergency insurance to this policy to cover the loss of essential services in your property.
Click here for more information on student landlords insurance.
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The premium you pay is calculated by assessing a number of different factors and their associated risks in addition to your claims history. The less risky, the lower the premium.
Factors include:
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Property location – postcodes are used to assess risk. Things like crime rates and flooding are considered.
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Sum Insured - the re-building cost will be higher where your property is part of a block, or when it’s in a conservation area or a listed building.
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The tenants you let to.
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Your personal history of claims.
Click here for get a landlords insurance quote from Endsleigh.
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Home Emergency insurance usually covers contractor call out charges, labour charges, parts and materials up to a maximum value for each emergency in connection with:
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Plumbing problems.
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Heating system problems.
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Security of doors and windows.
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Roofing problems.
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Drains and sewer blockages.
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Down pipes and guttering.
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Electricity supply problems.
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Lost keys.
This type of cover can be very useful when the landlord doesn’t use a Letting Agent and lives some distance away from the property. Home Emergency insurance can be added to a basic policy at an additional premium.
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You may experience the odd occasion where your tenant has difficulty paying their rent, through no fault of their own due to illness or redundancy for example. Or you may just have a bad experience with a tenant who won’t pay up; it can happen to the best of landlords. Tenant referencing could help to avoid this and gives you added peace of mind that your investment is protected. See our referencing (add hyperlink to take to referencing text) section for more information on referencing your tenant.
Rent guarantee insurance can help to minimise this risk. Prices start from just £6.40 a month for a standard policy and are invaluable for landlords who maybe only have one property with high mortgage payments who rely on the rent income. These policies cover legal protection to recover rent, help with the eviction of squatters and defend legal rights up to £50,000.
Please note - you have to reference your tenant before you take out rent guarantee insurance.
Click here for more information on tenant referencing from Endsleigh.
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If you have more than five properties in your portfolio, it’s prudent to look at specialist multi property insurance that insures all your properties under one cover. Not only does this type of policy give you the benefits of there being just one premium and renewal date, it is usually more cost effective.
Policies can be tailored to meet your individual circumstances and budget.
For a tailored quote from Endsleigh, please click here or call a member of our team on 01242 866906.
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As a landlord, it’s your responsibility to insure the building and the contents you provide for your tenants, whether furnished or unfurnished – you can get different levels of cover depending on your circumstances.
Your tenants are responsible for insuring their own personal belongings. They should also have some level of cover that protects them against any accidental damage they may cause to your property – without insurance; this would come out of their security deposit.
Many tenants either don’t think they need this type of cover and therefore have none at all, or they have inadequate cover. It’s in your interests as a landlord to ensure your tenants have cover for the following:
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Damage to the property caused by the tenant, such as allowing the bath or shower to overflow or leaks from the washing machine.
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Accidental or malicious damage to your fittings, equipment and furnishings etc.
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Accident or injury to guests or visitors.
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Replacement locks, keys and locksmith charges in the event of lost keys.
Premiums can be very inexpensive and quick to set up and, as a result, gives you and your tenant the peace of mind that they’re covered in most eventualities.
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Referencing a tenant is one of the most important things a landlord can do. It gives you the added peace of mind that you have selected appropriate tenants for your property and that you have minimised the risks associated with letting a property.
There are two types of tenant referencing you can choose from:
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A Comprehensive Tenant Reference provides landlords with a full tenant or guarantor reference report within 48 hours*. Initially you’ll instantly gain up to date, comprehensive information on the tenant or guarantor with an interim reference report. This is followed by a full report that validates the tenant or guarantor references by checking with their employer and previous landlord to verify that they can afford the rental payments, and that they have previously been a suitable tenant. A final accept or decline decision is then provided to you to help you make a decision. Comprehensive Tenant Referencing includes:
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A 6 year credit history search which identifies defaults, County Court Judgements (CCJ’s), bankruptcies, repossessions and poor payment records.
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Link address search which locates undisclosed associated addresses & residence history.
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Voters roll check to ensure that the tenant or guarantor is who they say they are.
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A fraud check with a score to identify fraud potential.
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An interim report is sent within minutes with above information.
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Validation of two references (Employer/Previous Landlord) – all referees are contacted directly.
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Accountant/Solicitor references collected if tenant or guarantor is self-employed.
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Immediate email notification with final tenant or guarantor reference report included when all reference checks are complete.
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A final decision either Accept or Decline to help make a decision on prospective tenants or guarantors.
Click here for more information on Endsleigh’s tenant referencing service (powered by Experian).
*subject to referee responses.
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An Instant Tenant Reference provides landlords with a report in minutes which will address the key checks that will help to make a decision on prospective tenants. Instant tenant referencing includes:
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A 6 year credit history search which identifies defaults, County Court Judgements (CCJ’s), bankruptcies, repossessions and poor payment records.
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Link address search which locates undisclosed associated addresses & residence history.
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Immediate email notification with final tenant or guarantor reference report.
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Voters roll check to ensure that the tenant or guarantor is who they say they are.
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A Fraud Check with a score to identify fraud potential.
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A Tenancy Score to indicate the likelihood of the tenant or guarantor to default on their rental payments.
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An Income Validation score to indicate the degree of confidence in the income stated by the tenant or guarantor.
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If you let your property to students you may choose not to reference them as they are highly unlikely to pass a reference. However, you can help safeguard your rental income by referencing a student’s Guarantor (usually a parent or legal guardian) who will be responsible for paying the rent in the event that the student is unable to pay the rent for whatever reason.
By referencing a Guarantor you can check that their income is sufficient to cover the monthly rental amount minimising the risk of the Guarantor not being able to pay the rental income. It also means that you will then be able to purchase a Rent Guarantee and Legal Expenses insurance product, provided that the Guarantor has been successfully and comprehensively referenced.
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