Here are some of the key points relating to landlord insurance policies:

• the moment you start obtaining rental income from your property (even if it is just from letting out a single room) then typically your existing owner-occupier property insurance may become invalid;

• in such situations, you will typically need to investigate landlord insurance policies (sometimes also known as buy to let insurance);

• this type of insurance typically provides buildings, contents and third party liability cover – though some landlords letting out property on an unfurnished basis may choose to dispense with contents cover;

• landlords insurance may be broadly familiar to anyone who has had experience of owner-occupier cover but it may provide additional protection in certain areas for things such as malicious damage by tenants or loss of rental income protection, things which may be rather more unique to landlords;

• if you are tempted to try to make do with owner-occupier buildings insurance for property you are actually letting out, then it may pay to keep in mind that insurance providers typically have access to sophisticated means of establishing the true occupancy position of property where a claim has been lodged – if you are found to have inappropriate cover your claim may be rejected and in some circumstances you may be guilty of making a fraudulent claim;

• if your property stands unoccupied for more than 30 consecutive days (the exact number of days is typically defined by your policy) you may find that standard cover is no longer applicable and that you may have need of vacant home insurance which is sometimes also known as unoccupied property insurance;

• it is worthwhile taking note of the fact that the unoccupied property condition may apply equally to owner-occupier and let properties;

• remember that, as a landlord, your exposure to third party liability claims may be significantly higher than the typical owner-occupier, therefore, it might be prudent to carefully check landlord insurance policies to ensure that they are going to provide you with adequate financial cover in this area (bearing in mind the potentially astronomically high cost of court awards should you be successfully sued);

• landlord insurance policies may differ significantly from each other in terms of their price, the cover they provide and the terms and conditions they may use to govern the relationship between their insurance provider and the policyholder – it is important that they are understood in totality, by you, before you make your final purchasing decision.