Landlord Insurance

What are the different types of landlord insurance?

There are two main types of landlords; commercial landlords and private landlords. Each type of landlord will require different insurance to meet their needs so it’s important to choose the right one.

Commercial landlord insurance

Commercial landlords rent out buildings or other available space for organisations to use for commercial purposes, rather than to live in.

As a commercial landlord, you will be responsible for all the health and safety responsibilities within the building you own. This may include conducting risk assessments, checking the safety of electrical appliances, managing any asbestos or arranging for a registered gas safe engineer to come and inspect it on a regular basis.

Commercial landlords also have responsibility for the overall maintenance and upkeep of the building and its structure. Often however, the accountability is shared between you and the tenant, so if they are paying you a fee for cleaning and maintenance, for example, it’s only fair that you make sure that the agreement is honoured.

Being able to demonstrate good health and safety practices as well as well managed maintenance programs at your commercial property to insurers could mean discounts on your landlord insurance – insurers like to see evidence of good practice. However, even the most diligent landlords can’t account for everything, and a good commercial landlord insurance policy needs to be in place should the worst happen.

By choosing the right landlord insurance, you can be safe in the knowledge that if someone was injured or if there was a fire, flood or issue with your commercial property, the legal expenses, rebuild expenses and other costs won’t have to be footed by you.

Private landlord insurance

Private landlords generally rent out one or more commercial dwellings such as houses or flat for people to live in, rather than work in.

As a landlord there are lots of things you will need to consider to keep your tenants happy and satisfied. This includes arranging cover if something was to go wrong.

Private landlord insurance usually includes repair or replacements of the building and its contents if there is damage due to fire, water leaks, flooding or any other serious issue. A decent policy can also include cover against legal fees, loss of rent and temporary accommodation for your tenants whilst works are carried out if your property is deemed uninhabitable.

Many insurance firms offer landlord insurance but the amount of cover you get can vary massively, so it’s important to get a good deal and remember that the cheapest option is not always the best. It’s also worth having protection again malicious damage by a tenant too, just in case. A lot of insurers also offer lock, key and glass replacement too, plus it’s well worth looking at a policy that covers loss of rent to avoid being left out of pocket if your tenant stops paying – due to a peril or otherwise. This is particularly important if you have a sizeable mortgage on your property and rely on the rental income to meet the monthly payments.