If you’re a landlord, it’s crucial that you get the right insurance cover to protect your assets. Basic buildings cover costs around £210 per year on average, but many factors can affect the price. Let’s dive into what landlord insurance is and how much you should expect to pay.
What is landlord insurance?
Landlord insurance protects you from risks associated with your rental property. The lowest level of cover usually insures the building against events like fire, flood or vandalism, but you can also get contents insurance that protects what’s inside your rental property. This is particularly important if you offer your property furnished.
Landlord insurance differs from home insurance as it also covers you if any tenants make a claim against you. As this is a specific problem that landlords face, a normal home insurance policy won’t offer any cover for this risk.
How much does landlord insurance cost?
On average, a basic landlord insurance policy that just covers the building and protection against tenant claims will cost around £210 per year, or £17.50 per month. However, the cost will increase if you decide that you’d like to add on extra cover for other potential risks.
Other factors that affect the cost of landlord insurance include:
Type of property: For example, a semi-detached house usually costs less on average to insure compared with a terraced house
Rebuild cost: The more your property would cost to rebuild, for example if it was damaged beyond repair in a fire, the more your insurance will cost. This differs to the property’s value, which is usually higher
Property age: Older properties are more likely to have issues, so tend to cost more to insure
Occupancy type: If you own a commercial property, this usually costs more to insure than residential properties
Location: Insurers see some locations in the country as more at risk of vandalism or burglaries than others
Type of tenants: Employed tenants are generally seen as the lowest risk compared with students, housing association tenants or house share tenants
Whether the property is occupied or not: You’ll usually pay more if your property is unoccupied, as there’s more risk of break-ins or problems going unnoticed for longer
Make sure you compare quotes to ensure you get the best price for your landlord insurance.
What does landlord insurance cover?
What landlord insurance covers depends on the type of insurance you choose, but here are a few of the things that you can expect your landlord insurance to cover:
Buildings
Most basic landlord insurance covers buildings. That means that you can claim for the repair or rebuilding of your property if it’s damaged by things like fire, flood, vandalism or other damage. You’re usually covered for damage due to loss of water – for example if a pipe bursts and causes damage to your walls, ceilings or floors – but often not for the repair to the pipe.
Contents
Usually available as an add-on, you can buy landlords contents insurance to cover any household items you have in your rental property, such as furniture or appliances. It’ll cover them in case of events such as theft, fire or flood, but not accidental damage – you’ll have to add this on separately. Also ensure that your tenants know that their belongings won’t be covered under your insurance either.
Loss of rent
Loss of rent can be covered depending on the type of insurance you choose and the reason for the loss of rent. Some buildings insurance will cover the loss of rent if your tenants have to move out due to fire or flood, but most of the time you’ll have to add it on.
You can get specialist cover like tenant default insurance to cover you if your tenants fail to pay you rent. Usually this cover will cover up to a certain number of months of lost rent and have a minimum number of months of rent arrears before you can claim. This cover also usually has a maximum amount it will pay out for rent arrears, and you have to complete credit and background checks on your tenants to be eligible.
Accidental damage
You can usually add on accidental damage insurance to cover the cost of replacing or repairing parts of your property if an accident happens, such as wine spills on the carpet or a dent in a fridge. You usually have to choose accidental damage cover for buildings and contents separately.
Landlord liability
Most insurance policies will cover landlord liability, which gives you cover to pay compensation claims if a tenant is injured or suffers damage to their property due to your negligence. For example, if your tenant is injured due to a broken floorboard in your property, you could be held responsible, and your insurance can help you cover the legal or compensation costs.
Legal expenses
Often offered as part of landlord liability insurance, legal expenses cover can help you recover the costs of evicting a tenant or any other legal expenses you may incur. There’s usually limit on how much you can claim that will be outlined in your policy.
Home emergency
Home emergency cover is often offered as an add-on, but you may be able to get cheaper cover separately. This type of insurance will cover you if your property’s boiler breaks down and your tenants are left without heating or hot water.
You may also be able to get home emergency cover for things like burst pipes or leaks on your water main. These policies often cover the cost of finding and repairing a leak and may help towards the cost of repairing any damage caused, but it’s usually better to claim on your main buildings and contents insurance for this.
What level of landlord insurance do I need?
While your mortgage lender may stipulate that you take out a specialist landlord policy as part of their terms and conditions, if they don’t, you’re not legally required to have landlord insurance. However, it’s a good idea to have cover in place – what would you do if your property had to be rebuilt from the ground up due to a fire? Could you afford it?
The level of landlord insurance cover you need will partly depend on your attitude to risk. For example, you’ll probably think that buildings insurance to cover against unpredictable events is a good idea, but you might be willing to risk not covering accidental damage and simply paying to repair or replace items if accidents happen.
If you have more than one property, usually around five or more, you may want to consider property portfolio insurance. This is usually the most convenient and cost-effective way to cover your buildings, and you can usually add on things like contents and legal expenses cover too.
Is landlord insurance more expensive than normal house insurance?
Yes, landlord insurance is usually more expensive than normal house insurance. This is because insurers consider that there’s more risk of damage to a rental property than an owner-occupied property. Tenants are seen as less likely to take good care of the property, so more accidental damage can occur. Plus, landlord insurance usually includes landlord’s liability and legal expenses cover, which isn’t included in standard home insurance policies.
How can I get cheap landlord insurance?
1. Consider what add-ons you actually need
Consider whether you need to pay for add-ons like home emergency or contents insurance. You may decide that you have enough in savings to cover a boiler breakdown or pipe repair, and if you provide minimal household items in your property it might not be worth covering them.
2. Maintain your property
The best thing you can do to keep your landlord insurance costs down is keep your property in good condition. Make sure you or your agent do regular inspections to spot any potential problems and get them sorted ASAP. This will help you prevent situations that can lead to a claim, which will increase your insurance premium in years to come.
3. Secure your property
Insurers often offer discounts on properties that are secured to a certain standard. For example, using mortice deadlocks that conform to BS3621 or key-operated multipoint locks on external doors can reduce your premiums as they’re harder for burglars to break into.
4. Consider the excess
Usually, the more excess you agree to pay (the amount of money you agree to pay towards the cost of any claim), the lower your landlord insurance premiums will be. However, make sure you get the balance right and choose an excess that you could afford to pay in the event of a claim.
5. Pay annually
The cheapest way to pay for any insurance is annually. If you pay monthly, you’re essentially taking out a loan, which means you’ll pay interest on your monthly payments.
6. Compare quotes
The best way to get cheap landlord insurance is to compare quotes so you can get a good view of the market and your different options out there. We’ve partnered with Quotezone.co.uk to help you save money on your insurance – get quotes now and see how much you could save.
Estimates for other insurance policies
| Job | Estimate |
| Travel insurance | £16.00 per trip |
| Pet insurance | £27.00 per month |
| Life insurance | £38.00 per month |
| Landlord insurance | £17.50 per month |
| Cheap van insurance | £45.00 per month |
| Cost of public liability insurance for plumbers | £6.00 per month |
| Cost of public liability insurance for electricians | £5.00 per month |
| Cheap motorbike insurance | £8.00 per month |
| Cheap home insurance | £20.00 per month |
| Cheap contents insurance | £12.00 per month |
| Cheap car insurance | £40.00 per month |
| Cheap building insurance | £10.00 per month |
| Cheap boiler insurance | £10.00 per month |
| Income protection insurance | £25.00 per month |
| Critical illness cover | £26.00 per month |
| Breakdown cover | £7.00 per month |
| Bicycle insurance | £14.00 per month |
Cheap car insurance renewal
| Job | Estimate |
| Ford Fiesta car insurance | £45.00 per month |
| Ford Focus car insurance | £53.06 per month |
| Ford Mondeo car insurance | £62.95 per month |
| Ford Kuga car insurance | £75.00 per month |
| VW Golf car insurance | £52.75 per month |
| Vauxhall Corsa car Insurance | £51.39 per month |
| Nissan Qashqai car insurance | £52.79 per month |
| BMW 3 Series car insurance | £44.22 per month |
| Vauxhall Astra car insurance | £49.46 per month |
| Nissan Juke car insurance | £57.14 per month |
| Volkswagen Polo car insurance | £50.29 per month |
| Cheap Ford transit custom van insurance | £76.18 per month |
| Citroen Relay van insurance | £77.02 per month |
| Volkswagen Transporter van insurance | £84.45 per month |
| Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van insurance | £111.80 per month |
| Vauxhall Vivaro van insurance | £67.76 per month |