Insurance For Your Residential Let Property

If you own a home which is let for residential purposes then you need to make sure you have adequate landlords cover in place. We can arrange cover for your buildings, landlords contents, loss of rent, and property owners public liability cover. As insurance brokers we search a specially selected  panel of UK insurance companies to find you the best deals on the market. Why search around when we can do all the searching for you.

More and more people are becoming residential property owners in the UK, buying homes and renting or letting them out to tenants, either outright or maybe via a ‘Buy To Let’ scheme. It can be one of the biggest investments you will ever make and you must make sure you have correct and adequate insurance in place to cover you in the event of the worse happening.

To arrange a property owners insurance quotation, just click on the link opposite and complete the simple quotation form right now. It will then be emailed to us where we search our schemes and come back to you shortly with our best terms. Alternatively give our office a call where a trained advisor can discuss your requirements over the phone.

The Right Insurance Policy – What To Insure?

If you let your property out to tenants then a standard household insurance policy will NOT give you the correct level of cover and if you had to make a claim you will not be paid. You must make sure you have a residential property owners insurance policy or landlords insurance policy to cover you correctly. There are a number of things you should look at covering under the policy, below are the main areas you need to look at:

• Buildings.  You should insure the property for it’s full rebuilding costs, including domestic outbuildings, gates and walls. Rebuilding costs should also take in to account architects fees and debris removal.

• Landlords Contents.  You are not responsible for covering the tenants contents but if you have your own contents in there you may wish to insure them. These may be carpets, curtains, blinds, furniture etc. By including even a small amount of contents it will mean full liability cover is provided.

• Public Liability.  All policies should include property owners liability and will normally be £2-£5 million worth of cover. This is vital to have and will cover you in the event of for example a tenant getting injured whilst in your property and you can be found liable.

• Loss Of Rent.  If the property becomes inhabitable due to an insured peril, e.g. a fire, and the property cant be rented out for say 6 months, you will lose out on the monthly rental income you would have normally been receiving. Loss of rent cover will ensure you are paid the same amount had your property not had that fire.  Most policies will automatically cover you for up to a percentage of the buildings sums insured, often 20%, although with some insurers you have to pay extra for this cover. Check.

Why Use An Insurance Broker?

Hodgson Insurance Services have been established since 1977 and have over 40 years experience in the property owners insurance market. All our staff are experienced and fully trained to deal with your insurance enquiry and using a selected panel of the best UK insurance companies including Aviva, Zurich, AXA, Ageas, Covea, NIG Insurance, Royal Sun Alliance, Allianz amongst many others we are ideally placed to offer you the best policy on the market at the most competitive price for your needs.

What Else Can Affect My Property Owners Insurance Policy?

There are a number of things you need to look at when taking out a landlords insurance policy. Below are some of the things which may affect your policy.

• Type Of Tenant.  The type of person(s) you rent your property to can seriously affect the premium on your insurance policy. Insurance companies like working persons or retired persons and this will give you the cheapest rate. If you intend to let the property out to students, DSS, housing association, asylum seekers or the local authority then make sure the insurers are aware as although it will result in a higher premium, if insurers aren’t made aware and you have to make a claim you wont be paid out.

• No Claims Bonus.  Like on motor insurance if you have had the property insured for a while without any claims then most insurers give a discount for having no previous claims.

• Area.  If you are looking to buy a property then the area you buy in will affect the premium. If your property is in the middle of a city it is more than likely going to cost more to insure than a property on the outskirts which has a lower crime rate. Before you purchase a property make sure that the property you are buying is not in a high risk area. Also properties right next to rivers, watercourses and cliffs can affect the premium, especially properties on flood plains, where you may not be able to get flood insurance.

• Excess.  The excess on the policy is the amount that you will be responsible for in the event of a claim.  Most policies have a standard £100 excess although for certain areas these can increase to £500 and above. You can also get further discounts on your policy by taking an extra voluntary excess, although increasing the excess too much will not give you significant savings.