Home Insurance for Landlords, Tenants and Flood risk areas
There are home insurance options no matter whether you are a tenant, a landlord or you live in an area that is prone to flooding.
Finding the right sort of home insurance now will reduce the risk of you being caught out in the future.
Landlords insurance
As a landlord you will have a duty to not only protect your property but the rental income that you will also receive. A landlord home insurance policy can also provide varying levels of cover for the contents you own within the property. This is ideal for those landlords that rent out their property part or fully furnished.
As well as covering both the building and contents, there are some very important additional features that could quite possibly save you from financial ruin.
- Rent guarantee insurance - The rent that you receive from your tenants is now an income for you and your family. This may be being used to pay off the mortgage on your rental property therefore it may be important to cover this income. Rent guarantee insurance will cover the rent payments in the event that your tenants refuse to pay or even when your property is empty between tenancies.
- Legal cover - This additional cover will help cover any legal costs you may incur if you need to go to court over a tenant dispute or if your home is taken over by squatters. It is thought that going to court to remove squatters can cost in the region of £1500 - £4000.
- Emergency assistance - In the event that the central heating were to break, a water pipe were to burst, an infestation of pests or the tenants keys were stolen, the tenant will no doubt call you to rectify the problem. With emergency assistance you can give your tenants access to a 24-hour emergency helpline which will allow them to speak to an advisor who will help sort the problem out.
Tenants insurance
With housing now less affordable, many are now turning to the rental market. In fact a recent article showed that the average age of a first time buyer is now 38.
While the house itself will be covered by the landlords insurance policy, it is just as important for the tenant to take out a contents insurance policy to protect their possessions from loss, damage or theft.
Additionally cover is also available to cover the contents of your garden. The average garden now has up to £1,500 worth of items stored in it, this can range from the lawnmower, barbeque and other gardening tools. For the keener gardener it may also be possible to insure your gardens flowers with some insurers.
Contents insurance can also extend to the items you carry around with you on an everyday basis such as your iPod, bicycle, mobile phone and even the clothes that you are wearing.
Flood risk cover
Flooding remains a leading news story around the world and in the UK. With climate change a major issue, floods are becoming more frequent and more damaging in nature. That is why home insurance flood risk cover has never been more important and more expensive for those in particularly high flood-risk areas.
There is a flood map located at The Environment Agency where you can see if you live in an area that is at risk of flooding from rivers or the sea.
If you live in one of the UK's high-risk areas, it is advisable to take the necessary precautions to protect your property and its content to both limit the damage a flood causes and potentially reduce your home insurance premium.
Here are a number of ways to protect your property and help reduce premiums:
- Keep important documents and valuable items upstairs and in a secure, dry area.
- Consider installing flood barriers.
- Consider fitting valves that prevent sewage flowing backwards.
- Use materials that are water proof on floors and walls.
- Raise your gas meter and sockets above flood level.
- Keep up to date with the latest flood warnings on the news or the Met Office website.
- See if it is possible to have flood defences installed in the landscaping of housing developments.
Some of the advice above can easily be carried out by the homeowner and some may need experts to be called in such as builders or electricians. Either way by taking some of these precautions it could help you secure a cheap home insurance premium.
Hit the jump to part six of our guide where we will look at specialist types of insurance.