Need to know more about landlord insurance?
If you’re looking for the best landlord insurance policy but not sure where to begin, why not check out our handy guide?
Read more4* Defaqto rated landlord insurance
Finalist for the 'Best Landlord Insurance Provider' 2019
Renting out a commercial property? We'll shape the right solution to meet your changing needs.
Specialist cover for landlords or management companies who let complete blocks of flats.
Cover all your properties under one roof by adding them to one of our landlord portfolio insurance policies.
Expert protection for properties that have experienced subsidence, flooding, unoccupancy and more.
As the UK's No. 1 student insurer, we have the expertise required to ensure your student property is fully protected.
Get 4* Defaqto rated cover for your landlord buildings and contents, including cover for loss of rent and alternative accommodation costs.
Rental properties come in all shapes and sizes, so it’s important that you find an insurance policy that meets your specific needs. After all, if you’re looking to insure a buy-to-let property rented to residential tenants, your requirements will be very different to a landlord with a large property portfolio who needs commercial landlord insurance. Even some common rental types such as holiday homes or unoccupied properties can be considered non-standard, requiring specialist landlord insurance cover. So what types of properties can Endsleigh provide a landlord insurance quote for?
Residential properties are rental properties that are let to residential tenants under a tenancy agreement. They are often houses, flats or maisonettes, and may be let to student or non-student tenants.
Commercial properties are rental properties that are let for business purposes to commercial tenants. Commercial premises are used by many different types of business and vary in size from shops and restaurants to leisure centres and factories.
Do you have multiple residential or commercial properties, a mixed portfolio of both, or a single property which is let to both residential and commercial tenants (such as flats above a shop)? If so, it could pay to insure them under one policy.
Non-standard properties are specialist rentals such as holiday homes, buildings of a non-standard construction or unoccupied properties. Rental properties that are affected by subsidence or liable to flooding are also likely to require specialist insurance cover.
We can provide:
If as a landlord or management company you own all of the flats or apartments within a single block or complex, you may wish to insure them on a single landlord insurance policy. This will ease the burden of admin and could mean you get better value for money.
With over 25 years’ experience in the let property market, we’ve taken the time to understand the needs of landlords. Our 4* Defaqto rated landlord insurance can be tailored around your business, whether you manage a single property or an entire portfolio.
Not sure whether you need landlord insurance? We’ve pulled together some frequently asked questions to help you decide.
If you’re renting out a property to tenants, whether it’s a single residential property or a large commercial premises, it’s important to make sure that you’re fully protected.
A policy will provide cover to protect the landlord’s buildings, contents or both against a range of perils, such as fire, flood, theft and malicious damage. Optional accidental damage insurance will further protect your buildings and/or contents against accidental damage caused by you or your tenants.
When you obtain a quote you’ll usually be able to choose additional landlord cover depending on the type of property you’re looking to insure, such as home emergency cover, legal cover or employers’ liability insurance.
While insurance isn’t compulsory by law, it may be a requirement of your mortgage or loan provider to make sure you have landlord buildings insurance in place.
While buying rental properties can be a great investment, those who are new to being a landlord don’t always realise that they may need specialist landlord insurance to cover the properties they rent out. This is often also a requirement for their mortgage providers. Luckily, there are many insurance options available to landlords to protect their let properties, and their income.
The type of landlord insurance you need for your rental properties will depend on a number of factors, including:
Endsleigh’s residential landlord building insurance will provide cover for:
You can also choose to add useful covers to your policy, such as home emergency or landlord legal cover.
Please read your policy documents for full details.
We are unable to provide the following covers under our residential landlord insurance policy:
Please read your policy documents for full details.
The cost of landlord insurance can vary and is determined by a number of factors. The premium is calculated based on your insurance history, as an individual, as well as the insurance history of the property.
Other factors can include:
It’s important to be as accurate as possible when you provide this information so your quote is reflective of your circumstances. If false or inaccurate information is provided, it may invalidate the policy in the event of a claim.
If you’re unsure, speak to one of our insurance consultants who will be happy to help.
There are a lot of up-front costs to take care of when you become a landlord, which could include anything from letting and managing agent fees to the price of property maintenance - not to mention your mortgage (if you have one). Therefore, you’re likely to want to save money wherever possible – including your insurance premiums.
To help you out, we’ve pulled together 5 simple tips that could help reduce the cost of your landlord insurance:
1. Increase your excess
Opting for a higher buildings or contents excess could ultimately reduce the cost of your landlord insurance – you’ll just need to make sure the excess is set at an amount you’re comfortable paying in the event of a claim.
2. Make sure your rebuild is right
It can be easy to over-insure, but unfortunately this can increase the cost of your insurance - which is why it’s important to get the rebuild right for your properties. You can find out more about calculating your rebuild here.
3. Consider whether you need portfolio insurance
If you’re renting out multiple properties, you could get a cheaper deal by taking out portfolio insurance – not only that, but it’ll save a lot of time on the paperwork!
4. Avoid unnecessary cover
Think carefully about the cover you actually need for your property – for example, if the property is being let unfurnished you may not require landlord contents insurance.
5. Decide whether to pay monthly or annually
While paying monthly is a great way to spread the cost of your insurance, you may pay slightly more to do so – so it’s worth considering whether you would prefer to pay annually to cut down your insurance costs.
If you’re letting your property furnished, you may require landlord contents cover to protect any items you own in the property. You can easily add contents cover onto your landlord buildings insurance with Endsleigh.
Endsleigh’s contents cover can protect your items - such as your carpets, curtains, furniture, household utensils, kitchen electrical goods and soft furnishings - against a number of different risks, such as if they are damaged in a flood or a fire or are stolen.
A single article limit of £2,500 applies and you cannot insure personal items or valuables or any items belonging to your tenants, so if you have any particularly expensive items (such as fine art or jewellery) you may need to investigate covering these separately.
In the event of a claim your contents will be replaced with a deduction made for wear and tear. This includes temporary removal cover and occupiers liability up to £2 million. Plus we automatically provide cover for garden contents up to £500 and for gardening equipment up to £1,000.
While home insurance will provide protection for your property’s buildings and any contents that you own (depending on the covers you selected when you took out your policy), it won’t necessarily provide cover for the additional risks involved with renting out a property – such as accidental or malicious damage by tenants or periods of prolonged unoccupancy.
Buildings insurance provides cover for the structure of your property against risks such as fire, theft and flood.
Landlord insurance, on the other hand, is a policy that can protect your rental property’s buildings and contents against risks such as fire, theft and flood, as well as providing cover for additional risks such as loss of rent and accidental damage or malicious damage caused by tenants.
The term ‘landlord insurance’ can also sometimes be used to refer to additional landlord policies, such as rent guarantee insurance or home emergency cover.
Yes - Endsleigh’s residential landlord insurance policy provides cover for malicious damage by tenants (and their guests) as standard up to £25,000.
First things first, what’s the difference between a tenant and a lodger?
If you decide to take on a lodger to supplement your income, you will need to notify your home insurance provider as this could affect the cover you have in place. Some insurance providers may restrict cover if you have a lodger (such as excluding break-in where there is no forced entry), increase your premium due to the increased risk, or you may need to find an alternative policy.
If you’re a leaseholder, you may also need to check the terms of your lease and/ or notify the freeholder before taking on a lodger.
Freehold versus Leasehold: What’s the difference?
Find out more about tenancies and the different types of property ownership.
It can get complicated trying to arrange insurance for multiple properties – especially if you’re covering them through multiple providers, meaning each property has its own set of policy documents and renewal date.
If you’re renting out more than one property, you may find it both time-saving and cost-effective to cover all your properties under one roof with a portfolio insurance policy.
All you have to do is speak to one of our expert let property consultants to easily add or remove properties from your policy, only paying for the time that the properties are on cover (pro-rata).
Endsleigh’s landlord portfolio insurance will provide:
No, landlord insurance is not a legal requirement – although it may be a requirement for your mortgage to have buildings insurance in place.
However, there are other legal requirements involved with renting properties to tenants - such as carrying out regular gas safety checks on your properties and providing certain paperwork at the start of the tenancy.
The excesses applicable when you make a claim with Endsleigh can vary depending on the type of insurance you hold, as well as the claim you are making.
With Endsleigh’s landlord building and contents insurance, the standard excess for most claims in £250 excesses but can differ depending on the nature of the claim. The most frequent excesses are subsidence (£1,000), malicious damage or vandalism (£1,000) and escape of water or oil £500).
For landlords who have insured more than five properties on one policy (portfolio insurance), you may incur excesses for property damage (£200) or subsidence (£1,000).
There is no excess for home emergency cover.
Property owners’ liability insurance is usually included as standard on a landlord insurance policy, and will protect you if a tenant or visitor becomes injured in (or as a result of) your property. This cover is essentially public liability insurance for landlords.
For example, if a loose tile were to fall off the roof and hit your tenant or a passer-by, you may be liable to pay compensation and it can often be expensive to resolve. Liability cover can mitigate this risk.
With Endsleigh’s residential landlord insurance, property owners’ liability cover is provided up to £5,000,000.
Before you get a landlord insurance quote, it’s useful to have certain information to hand to make the process quicker and easier. Find out the following information about your property:
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