What type of landlords insurance is available online?

Potentially, any insurance you may need may be available online.

Classic types of cover include landlords buildings and contents cover, landlords contents cover alone and third party public liability protection (this may be included as standard with some landlords buildings cover).

If you believe you have any form of specialist letting insurance requirements, we would be only too pleased to offer our services in helping you understand the options available.

Do I need landlords insurance online if I only let my own owner-occupied property during the holiday season?

Although it may be necessary to read the detail of any owner-occupier home buildings and contents insurance you may have in place, typically such policies will cease to offer cover the moment you start letting out your property.

That may apply even in situations where you are letting out your property infrequently or if you are only doing so for a room or two in a house you otherwise occupy as your own normal place of residence.

Is there any point in shopping around?

There is typically a very strong case to be made for comparing a number of opportunities side-by-side or asking someone to do that for you.

In spite of the sometimes cynical view of insurance that exists, the reality is that landlords policies may differ significantly in several respects including things such as price and cover provided.

What happens if I let my property on an unfurnished basis?

You may be able to seek landlords insurance online that covers only buildings, fixtures and fittings.

You should make sure though, that things you consider to be fittings in your property are actually also considered to be fittings by the provider of your buildings insurance.

What is unoccupied property insurance?

Insurance providers may typically regard an unoccupied property as being at higher risk (in certain risk categories) than property which is occupied.

Some policies may cover an unoccupied property for up to 30 consecutive days (there may be some variations on this between policies) after which time your insurance may cease to be valid in full or part.

If you wish to make sure that you have continuity of cover, you may need to seek what is called unoccupied property insurance.

Is this cover also available online?

Yes, you may typically be able to find both landlords insurance online and unoccupied property insurance cover through the same sources.

• your  requirements for buy to let property insurance may be very specific to you and the type of property and tenants that you have. Matching these requirements against the landlord insurance policies available in the marketplace may prove to be a time consuming business;
• the role of landlords insurance brokers is typically to take your requirements and find you the most appropriate cover they can;
• they may then be able to offer you the choice of suitable policies that they have been able to find to match your requirements;
• you may require a let property insurance policy which may provide you with cover against malicious damage by tenants or which offers you the freedom to choose whichever categories of tenant that you may wish to  (some policies may exclude DSS for example or students);
• policies may be available which might provide you with trace and access cover, which means that you would not be responsible for paying for damage caused to your property by a trades person finding and repairing another problem;
• if you have concerns about the effect on your income of your tenants having to move out if your property is rendered uninhabitable by an insured event such as flooding or fire, then a policy which offers loss of rental income cover may be very welcome and be something that a broker may be able to help you find;
• damage from subsidence may be something that may turn out to be financially disastrous for you and since not all buy to let policies these days may offer this protection as standard, using a landlord broker to find those policies that do may be worth thinking about;
• unoccupied property insurance may also be something that landlords insurance brokers may be able to help you find if your property is standing empty for periods of 30 days or more (you may wish to bear in mind that the terms and conditions of such a policy may be quite different to those of standard buy to let cover).

You may typically find:

• unoccupied property insurance is a form of cover that is tailored specifically for those times when your property is standing empty for periods typically in excess of 30 consecutive days or more;
• cheap unoccupied property insurance may be needed to address those risks that are prevalent when a property is empty, which may be very different to those that may typically be covered by a standard buy to let insurance policy;
• thieves and vandals may be attracted by unlit windows and a garden that may be becoming more overgrown and untidy;
• problems that may start out small, if left unnoticed may grow and cause damage which may be more difficult and more costly to put right;
• vacant home insurance may typically contain terms and conditions that may be quite different to those found in a standard landlord insurance policy;
• these might include a requirement to visit your property on a regular basis to ensure that ongoing regular maintenance is carried out and that any problems are fixed as quickly as possible before they have time to develop into something more serious;
• empty property cover insurance policies may also require that you keep of log of such visits and of the work carried out;
• landlords are not being singled out with this insurance requirement – empty property risks also effect owner occupied properties;
• it is the length of time your property may be empty rather than the reason that is important – so if you are on an extended holiday or business trip, are having trouble finding new tenants or your property is empty for legal reasons, your existing policy may not be providing the cover you expect after a set amount of consecutive days;
• unwelcome as they may be (in income generation terms), there may be times when your letting property is empty and  when additional protection may be needed – you may wish to bear in mind though that what is cheap unoccupied property insurance for you may not be cheap for another landlord, so it may always make sense to read the policy carefully prior to purchase.

• it is not necessarily widely known that typically both landlords and owner-occupier home buildings and contents insurance may contain an unoccupied property clause – this may state that the insurance is only valid providing that the property is normally occupied and that any period without occupancy that exceeds 30 consecutive days, may be cause for your insurer to consider the property to be unoccupied;

• in such situations, parts or all of your policy may become invalid;

• this may be the case even if the circumstances were not within your reasonable control – examples might include unlucky delays with new tenants moving in, delays between rentals, overruns on decorating, unexpected delays returning from a business trip or extended holidays etc;

• an unoccupied property insurance quote may be required in such situations, as insurers may typically see that the risks inherent in an unoccupied property are higher than those in one that is occupied (burglars and vandals may prefer unoccupied properties as there is less chance of disturbance and minor problems may become major ones if nobody is there to spot tem);

• unoccupied buildings insurance may offer protection in such circumstances and we will be only too pleased to offer our services in helping you to understand further the conditions under which your property may be deemed to be unoccupied;

• if you do take this cover after receiving your unoccupied property insurance quote, note that the insurance may place certain obligations upon you, typically including things such as the need to pay periodic visits to the property, keep a note of any work undertaken and to ensure that external areas are kept tidy and in lived-in appearance;

• some policies may require that you use lights on timer switches but even if they do not, you may wish to think about this as a good idea in any case;

• the status of your property in terms of furnished versus re-furnished, may typically not be a factor in terms of the principles here but it may be a factor in periods where your property is unoccupied for longer periods – it is advisable to check the policy carefully for details;

• obtaining an unoccupied property insurance quote may be a worthwhile investment of your time if you suspect that you may pass that 30-day period.

• it could be argued though that at this point it may be too late to be wondering how good or otherwise your current buy to let policy may be;
• the time to assess what is the best let property insurance quote may actually be prior to making a purchase;
• the way to consider a quote may be to compare the policies on offer by matching them against your requirements and expectations for landlord insurance cover;
• what may be no surprise is that what may be the best policy for  one landlord may not prove to be the best or most suitable option for you;
• there are a number of features of buy to let property insurance which may not appear in every policy and some of these may be of more interest to you than others;
• not all policies may offer cover for subsidence as standard, for example, or offer cover for malicious damage by your tenants;
• there are some landlord insurance policies which may offer you compensation for loss of rental income if your tenants have to vacate the premises while you have repair work done to damage caused by an insured risk like fire, flooding, the effects of smoke, storms, earthquakes etc;
• your insurance quotes may highlight those policies where you may have the greatest freedom to let your property to whosoever you chose – there are policies which do not cover students or DSS, for example;
• you may also wish to bear in mind that even the best let property insurance quote may require that you put specific insurance provision in place if your property is standing unoccupied for prolonged periods of time in excess of 30 days;
• typically you may find, in these circumstances, that you may need to purchase unoccupied property insurance covering those risks which may be more prevalent when your property has no one living in it;
• these may include your property being an increased target for thieves and vandals or the property being more at risk from things going wrong and left unfixed, causing damage which then gets worse over time;
• owner-occupiers may also require unoccupied property insurance cover in similar circumstances, for example, for a property under probate or empty as the result of an extended business trip abroad or an extra-long holiday;
• we would be only too happy to advise on this and any other questions that you may have on finding the best let property insurance quote.

There may be no such thing as a standard landlord insurance policy. Each policy may provide cover at varying levels with some being more in line with your requirements and situation than others.

That means that to find the answer to the question, what does landlord insurance cover? you may just need to read through the policy detail in each case.

All buy to let house insurance may cover basic elements and offer financial protection:

• for the property itself and its fixtures and fittings – covering accidental damage from storms, fires, smoke, floods, earthquakes and the like;

• for landlords contents if any –  contents insurance may be available as an option for those landlords who rent furnished or part-furnished properties;

• against having to pay court awarded damages for injury to a third party or damage to their property, attributable to your negligence as a landlord – this is known as public liability insurance for landlords.

Where you may find significant differences in these three categories may relate to:

• the maximum amounts payable for damage to certain items in the event of a claim;
• whether some events, like subsidence or malicious damage by tenants, are covered at all;
• the maximum amount available to cover court awards may be unrealistically low in some policies;
• the availability of reimbursement of legal costs even if you do not win your case (some legal proceedings like recovery of rent arrears or tenant evictions may not be covered).

In addition, you may find that there are some policies which may be able to add a couple of other features to the what does landlord insurance cover? list:

• trace and access cover, which may provide for repairs for damage caused by a tradesperson while trying to locate the source of another problem;
• compensation for a loss of rental income, if your  tenants have to vacate your property  while action is taken to effect repairs on damage resulting from an insured risk;
• cover for all types of tenants, including those which some policies may not cover (e.g. students and DSS).

You may wish to bear in mind that special circumstances may apply in situations where your buy to let property is empty and without tenants for a period of 30 days or longer, when unoccupied property insurance cover may be required.

If you are still unsure about the answers to the question: what does landlord insurance cover? we would be only too happy to clarify these for you.

Although you may not like to think of your buy to let property standing empty, there may be a number of very good reasons why this could happen.

You may have decided to carry out some renovations to your property and while you may have made some plans regarding how long this was going to take, you may typically have no control over builders running late or deliveries of materials and the like being delayed.

This may cause your property to slip in to the unoccupied category and you may need that unoccupied property insurance quote which you can easily find on a specialist landlord insurance site online.

(While you are there, it may be worthwhile also getting an online quote for landlords insurance so that you can compare your standard landlord cover against what is available through other policies.)

The reason that your property may need different cover when it is empty is that it may be vulnerable to different types of risk.

So, for example:

• dark windows and an untidy garden with builders materials lying around may attract vandals and thieves;

• a minor problem which arises in a property that is lived in may be noticed and dealt with quickly, whereas if left, it might potentially develop into a major problem, which may be more difficult and  more costly to repair.

When you buy an unoccupied property insurance policy, you may need to bear in mind that the terms and conditions, which it comes with, may be quite different to those which may apply to a typical landlords insurance policy.

You may find that you may be obliged to visit the property on a regular basis and to carry out regular maintenance work on it, as well as dealing with any issues or problems that crop up.  You may also find from your unoccupied property insurance quote that you should keep a log of these visits and any work carried out.

• when a property is empty, the risks of damage that it faces change;

• with tenants in place, a small problem may be noticed more quickly and either dealt with by the tenants themselves or passed onto you to sort out;

• this may mean that the damage that these problems may cause might potentially be reduced due to earlier intervention, which may be good news both for you as a landlord and for insurance providers, if a claim is necessary;

• thieves and vandals may be quick to take advantage of an unoccupied property, which allows them to work without being disturbed;

• the vacancy may have occurred for a number of reasons, like you having difficulty finding tenants or carrying out refurbishment or renovation work;

• it may not just be landlords who may need an unoccupied property insurance quote – the risk profile for owner occupier homes obviously changes in the same way if these are empty in circumstances which may include extended holidays or business trips, legal proceedings like probate or divorce settlements etc;

• empty property insurance cover may have terms and conditions that are different to those for your standard buy to let house insurance;

• you may find, for example, that you may be required to keep the outside areas of your property looking tidy and free from builders rubble etc – and to make it look as lived in as possible;

• there may also be a requirement to arrange for the property to be visited on a regular basis to carry out on-going maintenance and to fix any problems that crop up (you may be required to keep a log of these visits and a note of any work carried out);

• a landlord insurance broker, such as ourselves, will be more than happy to answer any further questions you may have regarding an unoccupied property insurance quote.

• being tempted to make do with owner-occupier home buildings and contents insurance cover is not advisable, as the risks that this type of insurance covers are not the same as those which apply to a buy to let property;
• you may wish to note that even if you are only renting out one room in your house, property insurance for landlords may be required if you are to ensure that any future claim would be covered;
• there may be various levels of let property insurance cover available and you may need to review some landlords insurance quotes to ensure that you find one that is suitable for you;
• not all may provide cover for all types of tenants, for example, so if you let to students or DSS then you may wish to ensure that these categories are included as standard;
• malicious damage by tenants may be rare but it unfortunately does happen and this again is something that not all policies include;
• something that is becoming increasingly rare in some landlords insurance policies, is cover for subsidence included as standard – it is available though so may be worth looking out for, if this is one of your insurance must-haves;
• an empty property may require its own unoccupied property insurance and there may be specific terms and conditions applied to this cover that you may need to take note of, including keeping the property and the garden area well maintained and tidy;
• being new to the landlord business may be no excuse for not knowing what your need to be doing as far as buy to let property insurance is concerned;
• bear in mind too that although it may not be compulsory in all situations, if you have a mortgage then your lender may require that you have let property insurance in place.

That’s because even if you don’t plan for your property to be empty for a prolonged period of time, building or renovation work can overrun and you may find that things slide all too easily into a situation where unoccupied property insurance may be required.

Two important points to note are that:

• your property may be empty for any number of reasons;
• empty property insurance is not just a requirement for landlords, owner occupiers may need it too if their property is empty for 30 consecutive days or longer.

For example, your property may be empty:

• while you are waiting for new tenants to move in;
• because you are having problems finding new tenants;
• as you may be on an extended holiday or business trip;
• while you wait the outcome of probate, divorce proceedings or a sale.

One thing that you may need to take note of with this type of cover, is that the terms and conditions that may apply may not be the same as those attached to your regular landlord insurance cover.

So if you do find that your property has slipped into unoccupied status, reading the policy details to ensure that you fully understand your responsibilities may typically be a good idea.

You may find, for example, that you:

• are required to visit the property on a regular basis and ensure that there are no problems or issues that may turn into something more serious (and more expensive to rectify) if not dealt with quickly;
• may need to keep a log of such visits, recording dates etc and the actions carried out;
• may need to ensure that heating and water systems and drained down – this may be particularly relevant at this time of year with autumn approaching;
• it may also be sensible to try and make your property appear as lived in as possible by keeping the garden tidy and perhaps arranging for some lights to go on as darkness falls (this may help deter opportunistic thieves and vandals).

Unoccupied property insurance caters for risks that are quite different to those covered by your standard landlords insurance so it may be unwise to be tempted to do without it.