The Landlord Blog
Garden Insurance – Lawn Insurance Cover
Garden Insurance. You may laugh, but If you’re one of the many proud property owners/landlords who strictly maintain their properties gardens and are proud of your investment’s exterior areas, then have you ever considered taking out protection against damage to your gardens, lawns and external storage buildings? In some cases, outdoor buildings may be covered by your existing policy but only marginally. For the bulk of landlords and property owners, their insurance doesn’t cover external buildings such as garden sheds and their contents, along with costly plants and lawns that are lovingly cared for.
All this stems from the recent weather changes experienced within the UK as unprecedented warm fronts greeted us earlier this year and continue to make fleeting appearances, which has urged many more homeowners and property investors such as landlords to take a larger interest in their gardens and house exteriors. With that there have been recent reports and research to validate the increase in the amount of home and garden products that have been purchased over the last few months.
As more and more insurers are realising the potential for offering specialist insurance for gardens and exterior property areas, we are beginning to see a trend that could become one that stays for the spring and summer months or a whole year round type of insurance. Statistics have shown that approximately 2 out of 3 households own a barbeque while over a fifth of UK residents have a vegetable patch in their gardens or grow fruit and berries in their gardens. A startling but still significant 2 percent have invested in hot tubs for their gardens, perhaps a sign that the UK could see further annual repetition of the warmer weather experienced this year?
With more time being spent in the English garden this year, compared to the last decade, so does the risks of spiteful vandalism and the threat of burglaries to sheds and outbuildings in an attempt to steal the new lawnmower and strimmer you have just purchased. What many homeowners and landlords don’t realise is that you are probably not covered against act of vandalism or theft from outside of your property and will need to look into securing the right cover through your insurance provider to cover your garden, garden tools and damage to your shed or other outbuildings.
Landlords – How Much Could You Save On Property Insurance?
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.
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.
Holiday Let Insurance – Protect Your Let Property
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 crept 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.
Flood Insurance – Protect Your Investment
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.
