What is the cost of landlords insurance?
Landlords buy to let insurance can be obtained relatively inexpensively from a number of specialist insurers. Buildings insurance can be purchased for as little as £100 per year for a let property but this can be influenced by many factors including, the postcode area, claims experience, the building sum insured, and the construction of the property.
A significant factor is the type of tenant who signs up to let your property. Most insurers will provide different quotes based on the different types of tenant groups which also represents their claims records for each category. For landlord’s insurance, the least expensive tenant group is a working/professional person or family. Other groups include students, mature students, asylum seekers, DSS let and working (in receipt of benefits). All of these types of tenant will attract a different premium from most specialist landlord insurers.
The location of your buy to let home will heavily influence the type of tenant that you are hoping will be attracted to your property. Such influencing factors will include the local economy and employment situation. If the main employer in the town has just closed for business, then, chances are the majority of suitable tenants will be unemployed and you market your property accordingly. If your property is in Belgravia SW1W with a minimum rental figure of about £1,700 per month then you will undoubtedly be attracting white collar professionals.
If you are buying the property you will also need to consider the insurance implications between exchange and completion of contracts when the seller may still be living in the property. In most cases the buyer will be responsible for the buildings insurance between exchange and completion of contracts and your insurance will need to be set up to reflect this. There may even be a period between exchange and completion when the property is empty, or it may be unoccupied after completion whilst the property is renovated and then let to tenants.
For each of these situations you will need a policy flexible enough to accommodate your requirements and giving you the cover you need at the same time. In most situations Bickers Insurance Services can offer you flexibility of a policy which can be altered to reflect your requirements including periods of the property being unoccupied.
When a rental property is unoccupied, care needs to be taken to compare cover that is provided to ensure your comparisons are meaningful. Many insurers who are keen to write business for landlord’s property are not quite so keen to provide full cover whilst the property is unoccupied. Typical exclusions can be cover excluding escape of water, burst pipes, theft, theft damage and malicious damage
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