What is landlord liability insurance?

Your Landlord insurance covers damages to your property and your contents if you have chosen to include them. But there will also be cover provided for various liabilities, including property owners and employers’ liability which will cover you against potential compensation claims should someone injure themselves in relation to the property.

Read on to find out more about the different types of liability cover that may be provided as part of your landlord insurance policy.

What is property owners' liability insurance?

Property owners’ liability insurance is usually included as standard on your 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.

As a landlord it is your responsibility to ensure your property is as safe as possible. Property owners’ liability cover therefore protects you against costs and expenses incurred in respect of:

• Bodily injury by accident including death, disease or illness
• Accidental damage to property happening during the period of insurance and arising from ownership of your property, but not its occupation

With Endsleigh’s residential landlord insurance, property owners’ liability cover is provided up to £5,000,000.

What is landlord employers’ liability insurance?

The employers’ liability cover section of your landlord insurance policy will provide liability cover to the landlord for any staff that they employ. It is only for people that are directly employed by the policy holder – for example, if you run a management company.

A contractor who is hired by the landlord to carry out maintenance repairs will not be covered by the landlord’s employers’ liability insurance - the company the contractor works for will have their own liability cover in place for their employees.

What is landlord occupiers' liability insurance?

If you have landlord contents insurance with Endsleigh, cover is provided up to £2,000,000 for liability as an occupier of the property. You will only require this cover if you are living in the property, such as if you have a live-in tenant. Landlord occupiers’ liability enables you to meet any costs and damages awarded to a member of the public for accidental death, bodily injury, disease or illness or accidental to the property, happening during the period of insurance and arising from ownership of the property. This will include hospital treatment and ambulance costs claimed by the NHS.