Landlord Insurance
If you are a landlord, the property or properties that you own are a vital source of income and investment for you.
Like any income you have, you will want to protect this very carefully. No-one likes to consider worst case scenarios but it is a necessity and for this reason you will want to choose the best landlord insurance for your property.
Especially in these economically challenging times, when tenants are more likely to run into financial difficulties and not be able to pay the rent, you will need protection.
Many landlords experience various difficulties with tenants, whether they have a disagreement of some sort or there is damage to the property, or they stop paying the rent.
These tenants can then refuse to leave the property, which will force you to go to court in order to get them evicted. This can be a costly process and having the right landlord insurance cover, including “Legal Expenses” cover will compensate all of your court costs.
Another scenario to consider is if your property was to be badly damaged by a fire. This can take months to repair, while the tenants cannot live there, but your landlord insurance policy would pay for all the work that needs to be done and the rent that you have not been paid during this period.
Apart from considering the worst case scenarios before choosing your landlord insurance you need to fully understand the implications of the BSI – Buildings Sum Insured.
Essentially this is an estimate of the cost to rebuild your property if it was completely destroyed. This should not be confused with the value of the property, but the cost of complete rebuilding. It is worth getting professional advice about this as if you underestimate it at the time of a claim this is what you would be paid out on, and you could sell yourself short.
Apart from the BSI, an insurer will consider other important factors such as the location of your property, the type of tenants who live there, the age of the property, type of property and a history of claims.
Depending on the property or properties, when choosing your landlord insurance policy you can consider the cover for the property/properties, the contents and also landlords’ liability insurance.
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