This is also a time when Thieves up and down the country are looking for empty or vacant properties, its well and truly known that most burglaries happen because there is an open opportunity.

It is important that your tenant has suitable contents insurance in place and also you have buildings cover for Theft or Attempted theft, should you require a quotation please contact us on freephone 0800 970 7172.

Make sure it looks like someone is at home!

• Don’t shut your curtains in daytime.
• Cancel newspaper and milk deliveries.
• Neighbours may be able to pick up post and also sit in a watch the property, if a car is parked on the drive this can be a very effective deterrent.
• Cut back long grass and bushes do not leave a place for anyone to hide and make sure any ladders are locked inside the premises or garages.
• Make sure all outside doors and windows are secured locked and alarms are set if available.
• Consider using timers for lamps during the evenings.

This guide will not stop the offence from occurring but will help remove the opportunities available to Chrismas thieve’s

Regards Dan

Once a value has been specified, it is an on-going battle to ensure this is correct and up to date every year in line with inflation. We make this achievable by ensuring your sums insured are indexed each month in line with the following:

Buildings: The House Rebuilding Cost Index issued by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Contents: The Consumer Durables Section of the General Index of Retail Prices or a similar index.

This allows us to follow correct increases in line with the forever changing cost of living increases; this can be opted out of but is not recommended.

When looking at Property Owners policies it is important to look at level of cover vs. price, our index linking procedure is one example of how Cover4 ensure are clients are completely protected .

Regards Dan

A good legal protection package will not only protect you from the landmine of legal obligations as a landlord but can also provide peace of mind for your tenant.

Being a landlord can be a very profitable business providing you have planned for any unexpected surprises that can potential catch out the most cautious landlords.

Cover4LetProperty can offer  a full comprehensive legal protection policy which has the option to include rent recovery which can be worth is weigh in gold.

The Scheme on will indemnify up for legal expenses up to £50,000 with a leading Insurer relating to:-

• Rent Recovery: The recovery of undisputed debt for rent unpaid by your tenant.
•  Eviction: Your legal rights to evict anyone, other than Tenants who have your permission to be in the property
• Defence Costs: Defence of your rights if an event arising from you letting the property leads to you being prosecuted in a criminal court.
• Property Legal Disputes
• Attendance Expenses: Indemnity against loss of salary or wages of £100 per person per day up to a maximum of £1000.

Another addition is rent guarantee which may be considered especially for high risk tenants or any customers that relay on the income generated from their property investments.

If you wish to discuss this further please call one of our dedicated Account Handlers on Freephone 0800 970 7172.

Regards Dan

Here at Cover4 we have a dedicated team of account handlers whose job is to make sure each policy we sell is not only competitively priced but also fit for purpose. It is most larger insurers procedure is to assign a fixed figure to cover the cost of reinstating your property should the worst happen. This is often more than sufficient to cover these costs however this sometimes does not give them the same flexibility with their premiums and treats every client as another number.

To counteract this, we like to base our rates on rebuild value i.e. the measure what the cost would be to clear a site in the event of fire, explosion etc. and rebuild it brick for brick. Whilst this may seem like a wise decision it creates its own set of problems for you – the landlord. Many are unaware of these costs and will just guess a figure. This runs a substantial risk of under or over insuring your property denying you the indemnity you rightfully deserve in the event of a claim or giving you an unfair premium.

Undoubtedly the best way to solve this issue is to conduct a full surveyors report to ascertain the true cost of reinstatement which is only to be carried out by a professional surveyor. This may involve additional cost which we all like to avoid but this would be a drop in the ocean compared with the outcome of underinsurance.

Submitting this figure when doing a quotation on our site means we can obtain you a premium quickly, accurately and customized for you the customer embodying the principles of treating customers fairly.

Regards Tony

The newsletter is full of the latest news and opinions of the current Let Property market, which will keep you up-to-date with all of the latest in an ever-evolving market.

The newsletter will also detail a lot of news and details about Cover4LetProperty which will keep you up-to-date on the current happenings of the Let Property Insurance world.

You will also have the opportunity to enter our Caption Competition, with the chance to win £50 off of your next renewal.

Please find the link to the Electronic newsletter below:

Cover4LetProperty E-Newsletter Jan 11

If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact us at Cover4LetProperty on 0800 970 7172.

Many Thanks,

Robin

Listed buildings are rated on different levels depending upon their significance as a building. In England and Wales, these are split into Grade 1 listed, Grade 2* listed and Grade 2 listed. In Scotland, they are listed as Grades A, B and C.

These are just a few of the things to look out for when taking on a listed building:

• Listed building consent must be acquired before you carry out any alterations and there may be a chance that the local council will object to planning permissions.
• Find out as much about the history of the property as possible. Local reports and libraries may be the best place to find this information.
• Water is a listed buildings biggest issue. Ensure that your property is water tight as this will help prevent damage. Water pipes can cause damage to weather boarding or timber frames or can even loosen masonry and mortar which can have serious consequences in listed buildings.
• Try to visit your listed building regularly and keep a log of any works undertaken.
• Be aware of any trees or plants that may have grown affecting the brickwork of the property.

It may be that it costs more than you expect and more than a non-listed building to maintain. If you have any queries regarding your let property insurance, or any concerns on how to maintain or insure you let property, please do not hesitate to contact us on 0800 970 7172.

Many Thanks,

Robin

• We cannot urge you enough to select the tenant of your let property with a rigorous process, which can include credit checks, tenancy references etc.
• Regular visits to ensure the tenant is taking care of the property. This will also help you gain a relationship with your tenant.
• Sort any possible maintenance issue of the property as soon as possible – therefore the situation cannot get any worse and the tenant will be very happy with this.
• Keep a written record of any issues with your let property.
• Take out Landlords insurance including Legal Expenses and Rent Guarantee cover (we at Cover4Let Property can offer cover for Legal Expenses and Rent Guarantee for a premium of £115 inc IPT per lease agreement).

If you have any issues with these measures, more details on Legal Expenses and Rent Guarantee cover or would like some advice on who best to speak to in the event you have a problem tenant, please contact us at Cover4Let Property on 0800 970 7172.

Many Thanks,

Robin

One of the largest dangers that exist during the winter weather are burst water pipes. This happens when the water freezes within the pipe, expands thus damaging it, causing an escape when the water thaws.

The following steps should be taken to ensure that the property and its contents are not seriously damaged due to an escape of water:

• Ensure that pipes and water tanks are well-lagged. Unlagged pipes are far more likely to freeze in sub-zero temperatures. Insulation materials and lagging are relatively inexpensive and will frequently cost less than the policy excess charged by your insurer in the event of a claim.
• If the property is unoccupied, even a relatively small leak if undiscovered, can cause catastrophic damage. If this is the situation, the water system can either be drained or if thermostatically controlled, the heating system should be left to operate at a minimum temperature of 15 degrees Celsius.
• If there is a gravity fed water or heating system, one vulnerable area may be the tank in the loft space. This is because the insulation on the loft floor may prevent the warmth of the house penetrating through increasing the likelihood of an escape of water. In these circumstances, if the premises are unoccupied, it is best to drain the water system. Alternatively, if the heating is left in operation, to ensure that some warmth circulates in the loft space, the loft hatch should be left open.

Depending upon the cover that has been selected at inception of your policy, a claim for escape of water may not be insured. If the property is vacant, there will also be additional conditions expressly stated within the policy or schedule that need to be complied with. If you are in any doubt as to the cover provided or action required, please contact us on 0800 970 7172.

The majority of escape of water claims are preventable so it is best to take the above simple steps and you will have one less thing to worry about this Winter.

Many Thanks,

Robin

Police have confirmed that 50 out of 58 police forces have had dealings with the drug being grown in their area, showing that this is not an issue in specific urban areas, but all over the country. What is more, 94% of cannabis operations have occurred in residential homes, which causes major concern for Residential Property Owners.

Damage from a cannabis farm can be vast, and it is not necessarily the plant that causes the damage. In one incident, a halogen light was used to heat the plant, and in turn this caused the property to set alight and damaged was caused in the fire. Other damage that can be caused by the plant include punching holes through walls and causing damage to water pipes and electric cables within the property. The average cost of repair following cannabis damage is £30,000, which shows the extent of damage that can be caused by the growing of the plant.

Any damage to this extent would obviously be a large claim if looking to be made on you Landlords Insurance. We can advise to look out for the following to minimise the risk of this occurring when looking for a tenant:

• Look out for a tenant looking for a short-term let of 3-6 months.
• Where a large chunk of their rent is paid in cash.
• The tenant fails to provide a reference.

There are also a few things that you as a landlord can do to help minimise the risk of damage:

• Do not accept payment in cash but instead insist on payment through a bank.
• Do not allow sub-letting in your tenancy agreement.
• Carry out regular inspection on the property.
• Vet a prospective tenant thoroughly.
• Alternatively, you can employ a letting agent who will vet the tenant and inspect the property regularly.

Cannabis farms are an increasing problem, and are a concern for anybody with Let Property Insurance. If you have any concerns regarding this matter, or any other matter regarding your Let Property Insurance, please do not hesitate to contact us at Cover4 Let Property on 0800 970 7172.

Many Thanks,

Robin

Recently, there has been an increase in the value of copper which has made this a new desire for thieves to obtain. Metal is an extremely valuable commodity and copper has hit an all-time high in recent years and is seen to be staying there. Thieves are breaking into properties and stealing piping which is made from the copper. It is not only this that is causing problems for the property owners, but the damage they cause whilst committing the crime. Breaking in to the property is likely to leave damage and repairs needing to be made, but on top of this there are the consequences of removing pipes to attend with – it could leave costly water damage and flooding in the property.

There are a number of ways to increase the security of your property to aid in the prevention of it becoming a target. A few examples of measures that can be taken would be; fully operating burglar alarms installed in the property, all windows and doors fitted with locks and to give the appearance as best you can that the property is occupied e.g. avoiding windows from being boarded up. In higher crime rate areas it would be advantageous to have CCTV installed – even if it is not functioning, potential thieves do not know that. All of these methods will aid in the prevention of keeping your property from being a target to offenders. 

If you have any further questions or queries, do not hesitate to contact us on 0800 970 7172 where we will be happy to help.

Jade