Dear All

We all know that the most important service that you get from your landlords insurance is when you have to make a claim. After all, this causes lots of stress and anxiety, your tenants may be on the phone needing action, you need to ring the insurers etc. Here we provide some (hopefully) helpful tips:

1) Keep your insurance documents in a safe place. This sounds obvious but we do hear of cases where this has does not happen.
2) Read your documents carefully. Again a very simple thing but one that can cause confusion, for example if you are unsure of what cover is provided you should speak to your broker/insurer.
3) Keep your tenants informed. Tenants will normally have no problems in times of stress if you as a landlord keep the lines of communication open. It will also make the tenant much more amenable to assisting with events as they progress.
4) Be honest with the insurer & provide all details possible. You can only be expected to provide information to the best of your knowledge. Claim forms should be completed with care and if you are unsure, speak to the insurer.
5) Report the claim ASAP, most insurers ask to be informed within 30 days (or 7 in the case of loss of rent, riot etc) or within reasonable timescale. Make sure you are aware of the reporting procedure.

We hope you find these tips of use to you but as mentioned above, it is always best to check your wording.

Have a great day

Mike