Should You Obtain Cheap Landlord Insurance?

Looking for cheap landlord insurance is a matter of opinion. If you are a large corporate landlord with hundreds of properties on your books, then your idea of what a cheap policy is may be vastly different from someone who lets out one buy to let flat.

Likewise, your concept of a inexpensive policy may also depend on what you want from an insurer. For instance, do you want an all singing, all dancing policy or something that just covers the basics?

Insured risks

Cheap landlord insurance may typically cover similar dangers to any other kind of deal, which may include fire, malicious damage, earthquake, storm, and somewhat bizarrely damage caused by items falling from aircraft.

For instance you may have protection against loss of rent.

How much will it cost?

The price of cheap landlord insurance protection, just like the price of the buy-to-let property itself, may depend on location, location, location. Your insurance may work out dearer if you live in an area that is known for high crime.

Once you have received some buy to let insurance quotes, why not ask around to see if a concession is available? You may be able to save on your insurance if you are covering more than one property.

Unoccupied property

Sometimes it is a fact of life as a landlord that your property falls empty. For instance you may be decorating the property. But sometimes empty days may turn into weeks, which then turn into months. This is when you have to start thinking of insurance for empty properties.

Unoccupied property insurance protection may be different from standard cheap landlord policies because providers may perceive that an “empty” property may be more at risk from:

• attacks by arsonists;
• disproportionate flood damage (as there is no one there to tell you immediately); and
• malicious damage, because criminals may notice that the property is empty and target it.

Insurers may typically say that a property that has been empty for 30 days or more may be “unoccupied,” in which case you may find that your cheap landlord insurance may become void unless you notify your insurer.