Landlord Insurance - Buy-to-let cover guide

What is Buy to Let Insurance?

Given the incredible buy-to-let boom in recent years, it will come as little surprise that insurance companies have fine-tuned their insurance offerings to provide landlords with comprehensive cover for their property investments.

All property owners should be covered by adequate insurance, whether they be normal homeowners, business or residential landlords, or business property owners. However, you cannot cover a buy-to-let property under standard home insurance, as you are effectively running a business - you need to ensure you have landlord insurance (which is a type of business insurance).

Alongside our general guide to landlord insurance, we aim to outline what buy-to-let investors might expect to see in a typical comprehensive policy - these are widely available these days. You can also compare landlord insurance quotes right away.

Buy to Let Insurance Components

1. Property Cover - This component will cover the cost of rebuilding your property should it be damaged by flood, fire, or other calamity. You will need to declare the value of the property in the event that it is completely destroyed. This is known as the "Building Sum Insured".

You should always provide an accurate estimate for the rebuild cost of your property, as insurance companies will typically only pay out claims in proportion to the Building Sum Insured value. Many landlords get tempted to undervalue their properties in order to lower premiums - this is obviously not recommended!

2. Contents Cover - Although it will be the responsibility of your tenants to insure their own contents (via contents insurance), the landlord should also ensure that his/her contents are also covered - this could include furniture, carpets, decorative objects, etc.

3. Landlord Liability Cover - You are responsible for the safety of tenants living in your buy-to-let property. This component will cover you in the event that a tenant harms themselves as a result of a fault in your property (such as a burst water tank in the attic, or faulty wiring). Landlord Liability Cover will take care of any damages awarded to tenants as well as your legal costs.

Landlord Insurance Online Quote

We have worked closely with our partner, Simply Business, for several years now. To get a landlord quote, or to find out more information, simply click here.