Landlords Insurance Information

Recent reports have shown that typically UK property owners, whether residential homeowners, investors or a landlords taking out insurance policies on their properties, could effectively be losing out on approximately £132 a year each! Equating to a huge £937million that could in effect be saved each year, that amount lost could be saved by searching around the many insurance companies and comparing against your current provider. Just as simple as that, taking a few moments to compare your insurance provider against an array of competitive companies can result in hefty savings, allowing you to do more with your money.

With the news of this huge deficit that is potentially being wasted each year, perhaps it will give more homeowners and landlords the incentive to search the marketplace before letting their policy automatically renew itself year after year. The reasons why many choose not to shop around are varied and quite frankly are a little on the pessimistic side. Many feel that their hard work and investigative skills in seeking out their current policy meant that their premiums could not possibly be beaten. To be told that there were a cheaper deal out there may be taken as an insult to a select few. In addition many feel or believe that there are no further savings to be made and have made themselves comfortable with their current insurance provider.

A percentage of UK residents do not search for cheaper insurance simply because they have no urge to, with many no even bothering, possibly thinking that if the same insurance was cheaper elsewhere there must be a catch? The remainder of those who do not check out their policies against competitors premium prices say that time is an important factor and they have little or no spare time to begin searching for better deals. As I stated above, these are pretty lame excuses.

Taking at the very most, 5 to 10 mins of your time in an evening to quickly enter your details online could generate a healthy saving for you and at letprotector.co.uk, one of the leading landlord insurance websites, you have the ability to tailor your insurance package to suit your needs, requirements and budget.

The summer is here and you have eagerly anticipated your holidays abroad for weeks or months now. Your suitcases are packed, passports are all in check and you have arranged your travel insurance. Although there is the standard checklist that we all participate in, such as getting the travellers cheques or local currency, ensuring you have everything you need such as sun cream and the rest of the holiday paraphernalia, how many of us check to see if our home insurance extends to protecting our property when vacant whilst abroad on holiday? Not just homeowners but landlords and property investors who lease their properties out to anyone from students to families and individual tenants.

An empty home is the perfect invitation for burglars and vandals, looking to cash in whilst you are away on your holidays. More so, if you happen to leave any valuables on display where they can be easily spotted or where a property has no external signs that an alarm is installed to notify others that an intruder is within your home. There are important steps to take to ensure the best chances that your property will emerge unscathed during your holidays. In reflection of the figures released that showed that in the first quarter of 2009 at the high of the recession, insurance claims as a result of burglaries creeped just above £100m, showing the scale of the problem facing homeowners and landlords alike.

Anything even remotely close to a £100m is a huge amount we are sure you will agree but following even the simplest of steps can go a great distance to avoiding the heartbreaking and violating feeling you experience when arriving home to find that a stranger has ransacked your personal and private space, taking your treasured items and leaving you with a horrible sense of disgust. Taking a moment to install a burglar system is an option that is feasible for many landlords and homeowners across the UK, in addition to timers for lights and the installation of exterior flood lights to deter any imminent thieves or burglars as best as possible.

One important consideration to make is to ensure that you have adequate locks for both doors and windows that comply with your insurance policy, preventing your protective policy from being ineffective in the event of a break in or disturbance. Finally check to see if your insurance policy covers you for vacant properties and for how long your property will be empty for.

A genuinely serious threat for many locations across the UK, floods from torrential downpours are extremely worrying for many home owners and landlords living in many of the black spot areas where the chances of these types of occurrences are much greater than other locations situated higher above sea level and away from possible danger areas. In recent events there have been a record number of UK areas suffering the effects of devastating floods, with many losing their possessions entirely.

Only very recently the UK suffered a series of heavy rain and powerful winds, akin to those of a monsoon but with severe gale force winds. Battering many areas of the UK, many home owners and residents were left with evaluating the damage and destruction to property and their possessions. In times like these ensuring that insurance policies are justifiable is so very important, often making the difference between gaining the right assistance to rectify and repair the damage as soon as possible and being left without a home for months to come.

For home owners and landlords situated in Scotland, the level of damage was some of the severest, causing many to lose many precious possessions in addition to experiencing vast expensive damage to properties. For those unlucky enough to have a lesser valued insurance policy, the turnaround for recouping losses and returning their homes to their former state is going to be a long drawn out and costly procedure. Even for those homeowners and landlords with sufficient insurance there is still going to be quite a wait but at least they will be able to recoup the value of lost items and have the peace of mind that their insurance policy has covered all the cost of repairing their buildings and homes.

Taking out the right insurance is paramount and with many experts offering individual and bespoke insurance policies such as letprotector.co.uk specialising in the correct protection for landlords and their tenants, cover can be found that won’t cost the earth. These latest floodings are a testament to the importance in securing the right insurance for you and your property, taking the time to properly insure against the unknown and the possibilities of an insurable event occurring. By taking these advanced precautions, landlords and home owners can gain reassurance that they are adequately protected.

Perhaps you are not fully aware of the full dangers that can face you as a landlord in today’s market? Well the aim of this post is not to criticize your ability to provide a fair and professional service to tenants or to teach you about how to conduct your business as a property investor or landlord. Instead this is purely to inform you of a most unwelcome threat to your property, the squatter. Squatters can be a landlord or property owners worst nightmare, not just because they enter your property illegally and usually by forced entry, but because of the legalities that need to be put in place before intervention can be established, removing squatters can be a time consuming and costly business.

Not only this but the added stress and anger only fuel the situation even further, finally resulting in court costs and legal bills that could easily exceed several thousand pounds. That is before you take into account the loss of income and the all too familiar reports of excessive damage to the property and subsequent costs and work necessary to put the property back to an inhabitable state. It is one disturbance to certain landlords that is becoming somewhat of a problem, especially in built up inner city areas and suburbs around the UK’s major cities such as London, Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh. In these areas are many opportunities for squatters to inhabit properties. Especially in houses that are leased out to students throughout the academic terms and lay empty for months in between student terms such as the summer and festive holidays.

Squatters taking over vacant commercial properties, often the seasonal business premises are a large concern due to the sheer effort and legal red tape involved in property owners and landlords removing them, often spending large amounts of time and money obtaining specific documents or court orders such as IPO’s or Interim Possession Orders. Often by this time the squatters may have already moved on leaving you out of pocket by a substantial amount and with the possibility of having to spend further amounts putting right any damage to the property. There are certain measures that can be taken to avoid the threat of intruders and squatters, of which we will discuss in upcoming posts.

Ok, so you have found the perfect property to lease out to tenants and have found suitable tenants who provide you with the financial stability that comes from receiving regular rental payments, fantastic news. It can be a bit of a time consuming business reaching a happy level of satisfaction on both your part and that of your tenant but is completely worth the determination and hard work when everything falls into place.

However have you considered what might happen if say in the middle of the night your tenant(s) experiences a loss of power or other utility or perhaps wakes to the sound of running water from a leak that has sprung from internal plumbing? Well in any case you would need to pay a high price for a callout engineer in addition to trying to find a plumber, electrician or even a locksmith available late at night or very early in the morning.

Well one type of cover that is designed to offer you around the clock, 24 hr cover is Residential Emergency Assistance, available from the experts at letprotector.co.uk. Underwritten by one of the largest Insurance companies, Fortis Insurance Ltd, Residential Emergency Assistance is a bolt on or additional supplementary insurance policy that landlords can take out that can often pay for itself after just one incident. Offering cover of up to £500 to the cost any emergency repairs to such insured items such as external doors, locks or glazing and frames, securing a building if the materials cannot be sourced at a particular time of the night in the case of an attempted break in or burglary for example.

In the same principle when experiencing such common occurrences as a burst water pipe or loss of central heating for example, having the right level of cover allows you to have access to professional and experienced registered tradesmen, swiftly and at whatever time of night you need. This indispensible service is often a big incentive that can attract the correct type of tenants you may wish to target, proving to be very popular to those who may feel vulnerable such as the elderly or young females living alone.

Whether you find yourself locked out or you have lost your keys, you have suffered a burst pipe or the central heating boiler fails to operate in your rented accommodation, having no limit on the number of claims and having first class access to the expert tradesmen to solve your dilemma is so invaluable here at letprotector.co.uk.

Being a landlord can be a full time business for many, with many obligations to meet all aspects of your contract between you and your tenants, providing the best services to ensure satisfaction for all parties. There are many laws in place to protect both landlords and their tenants and as either you need to do your research to discover what your specific obligations may be and what legal rights you are entitled to in the event of circumstances arising.

Apart from the normal responsibilities of a landlord which include the overall safety of the property and the structural stability of the rented accommodation, there certain acts of parliament which need to be properly understood and applied when taking on the role of a landlord. These include the Race Relations Act, Sex Discrimination Act and the Disability Discrimination Act which are all accountable for when renting or letting properties.

Residential landlords need to ensure they are responsible for and duly maintain gardens and other common areas when renting accommodation to more than one tenant and need to ensure the property is in a suitable condition for tenants to live in. All electrical and gas appliances in the property need to be checked regularly and proven to be safe and any repairs to external parts of the property and any plumbing and heating equipment are all obligations that you need to actively keep updated as a landlord.

After its recent introduction, all landlords need to supply an up to date Energy Performance Certificate or EPC when taking in new tenants which outlines the energy efficiency of the property. In addition, any furnishings and furniture that are provided by the landlord need to be properly fire rated and the fire safety must meet government regulations.

When setting up as a landlord for the first time, it is important to remember the requirements that you have to ensure a safe environment for your tenants and when choosing the correct insurance to cover your needs, letprotector.co.uk are one of the leading landlord insurance providers who can help you arrange first class competitive cover in the shortest time scale. With the ability and the resources to create tailored and bespoke landlords insurance policies for a wide range of landlords needs and requirements, letprotector.co.uk are one provider who can assist you today.

Figures released in recent months have once again reported that the number of tenants looking for suitable rented housing is still very high, prompting more home owners to consider taking on extra properties to rent out to tenants across the UK. The increase in the overall number of tenants renting accommodation stems back to the massive drop in the housing market in the 90’s when many homeowners found they couldn’t afford to repay their mortgages due to steep rises in the Bank of England rates and subsequently mortgage repayments.

As a result, the opportunity arose for a variety of different private housing solutions to be made accessible to tenants with the introduction of specialist mortgages called by to let mortgages. These mortgages enabled home owners to purchase second properties for the sole purpose of leasing or renting them out to a range of tenants depending on their requirements and specifically targeted market. All the signs point towards a great time for investors and landlords to take on additional properties for rental purposes and doing their bit in easing the current tenant waiting lists.

Across the UK many letting agents are saying the same thing and that is that there is a shortage of different housing for different tenants such as terraced properties for DSS tenants and those with families who work. There is a calling too for and apartments and flats for students and city professionals desperate to find affordable property that is in close proximity to town and city academic buildings and businesses. What’s more is that for many tenants the prospects of renting a property are far more financially achievable than buying a house and paying the monthly repayments. What is more is that with a rented property, tenants are not held liable for the property’s maintenance.

Government figures show that although there may be a better time for first time home buyers to purchase their first properties within the next year or so, there will always be a strong need for a large number of new and seasoned landlords. Even if the property market improves, many will still prefer to pay rental incomes, having all repairs and other necessary works carried out by their landlord. Altogether this is great news for buy to let landlords and existing landlords wishing to expand on their portfolios or enter the rental market for the first time.

If you are a landlord for the first time or already a seasoned landlord you probably won’t or may not know everything there is about insurance policies for landlords. In this instance it is up to the experts such as our professional team here at letprotector.co.uk to offer unbiased and supportive advice and guidance on giving you the most beneficial insurance cover to properly insure your investment. One thing to mention before going any further and as an import point to start with is this. In order to rent out a property to tenants, you need to purchase landlords insurance. Normal house insurance will simply not be sufficient enough and could leave you being unable to claim if and when the situation arises, leaving your policy null and void.

Taking the time to arrange the best policy for your needs is critical for you and any tenants you house within your property. There are too many examples of insufficient insurance policies being taken out where a landlord has perhaps bent the truth about their particular requirements. This has led to their policy provider failing to pay out and the landlord losing far more than what they believed they may have saved. The truth is that with many landlord insurance providers, being completely honest about your policy needs can often result in your correct policy premiums being almost the same. In any views, the competitive nature of the current market and the costing restructure applied to such insurance policies means that you can receive very cost effective quotes to give yourself and your property the protection you deserve.

When opting to take on the role of becoming a new landlord, there is one important decision to make and that is the type of client you are hoping to attract. Advertising your property for rent on notice boards and free papers, for example, may bring you working class couples and the odd student, possible DSS tenants or elderly tenants. Not to seem biased towards any band of tenants but in many cases, selecting particular tiers of tenants can place a higher risk on your property being mistreated, for example DSS and student tenants are a bigger risk than an elderly couple or those families who are generating an income and so may make an impact on your premiums.

It could be discussed daily for the rest of time but for many property landlords, the need to educate them on the importance of gaining the correct landlords insurance cover is ongoing and will probably continue to be so. Insurance in any shape or form is a protective cushion for when things go wrong. We all will take out insurance against a variety of events and mishaps during our lifetime which can affect us physically, mentally or financially. In the event of becoming a landlord, all three could apply which is why it is really so important to get it right the first time around.

It is all too familiar to hear about a landlord that has lost all or a large percentage of their investment due to the fact that they failed to gain the correct insurance policy for their property or attempted to undervalue their policy in order to pay less on their premiums. What these investors and landlords don’t realise is with the right searching, the correct landlord insurance policy won’t cost you the earth. There are simply too many ‘what if’s’ to risk a void claim on your insurance. Not when you are talking about one of the most expensive investments you will probably make. Letprotector.co.uk is one of the most dedicated providers of landlord insurance services and offer expert advice and assistance to arrange bespoke and individual solutions at competitive prices.

The one thing that many landlords and investors consider time and time again is cost. Letprotector.co.uk are one of the UK’s leading providers of landlord insurance and work hard to build up the ideal insurance package for so many landlords across England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Dedicated to keeping quotes as competitive as possible, letprotector.co.uk understand the narrow margins of the letting insurance market and so rely on a wealth of expertise and knowledge, together with their vast resources to deliver affordable and highly beneficial insurance for landlords.

Whatever your current situation, whether you are a buy to let second homeowner renting a small terraced property or perhaps a seasoned property investor with an impressive portfolio of properties to rent, it is a major priority to make sure that you are securing your investment with the right landlords insurance policy. The worst thing you can ever do, other than not purchase any insurance whatsoever, is take out a standard home insurance policy for your rented property. The level of cover is sadly inadequate for the purpose of insuring you and your investment when you lease it to tenants.

As you already know leasing your property to tenants can be a risky venture because you are potentially placing your hard earned investment into the hands of a complete stranger. When described in such a manner you can understand more, the need for the most protective landlords cover. In a nutshell there is currently a huge demand for rented properties in the UK at the moment. With many new buy to let landlords appearing, insurance companies can now afford to offer bonuses and incentives such as affordable premiums and at letprotector.co.uk will not be disappointed.