Home Insurance for Buy to Let properties

Let us call this home let insurance. Home let insurance is designed for landlords who own property in which they don't live. Instead they let the property out to a tenant who rents it from the owner. Key rating factors of home let insurance are not only the location and type of home but the type of tenant that is renting the home from the landlord.

As Insurance brokers B. Portwood & Co Ltd offer a range of home let insurance products. As some insurance providers are competitive in different areas and for different tenants, we have programmed several home let insurance providers rates into our online quotation system so you can be sure to obtain a cheap home let insurance quote.

Rating factors for home let insurance

• The Home itself! 

  • The insurance premium will depend on the estimated rebuilding cost of the home (the more the home will cost to rebuild, the greater the potential loss and so the higher the premium)

  • The age of the home is also a factor. Homes built more recently are cheaper to rebuild and have been built to a higher standard than older property - this reduces the chance of a claim having to be made.

  • The type of home: bungalows for instance are less likely to suffer damage and, to some extent, the type of tenant that goes into a bungalow is likely to be different from ones going into a flat.

• The location of the home.

  • Homes that are built close to rivers are more likely to suffer flood damage.

  • Homes built in exposed areas are likely to suffer damage from storm and wind

  • Homes built on clay could suffer damage from subsidence

  • Homes in inner-urban areas may be more prone to suffer malicious damage

• The tenant in the let property

  • The key here is moral hazard. If your home is occupied by a professional person, or at least someone from who you have taken references then there is a very low moral hazard.

  • However if you let your home be occupied by someone who is selected by a third party, housing association or DSS then you are at their mercy. It may be that they select an inappropriate person due to financial consideration.

  • Many homes are let to students. Whilst some insurers regard students as unkempt, untidy, booze-drinking layabouts having regular parties, many others now appreciate that most students are responsible young adults. The cost of higher education may have something to do with this - students will only want to incur fees if they wish to study hard and achieve a better qualification (Bullingdon Club excluded!). Indeed many insurance companies will insure a home let to students at normal rates.

  • Another category is property let to asylum seekers. Whilst, of course, asylum seekers cannot let property in their own name, the agreement is between the Local Authorities and the Landlord. Our experience is that homes let in this way incur substantially higher insurance premiums.

Cover available under a home let insurance policy

• Unlike some home let insurance providers, all the policies we offer include subsidence cover and loss of rent as standard. Policies will also cover damage by the special perils and accidental damage cover is available in most policies (often free!)

• The first section of a home let insurance policy is buildings cover i.e. for the bricks and mortar of the home. The only case when this is not taken is if cover is for a flat (or several flats in a block) where the management company has arranged cover for the whole block themselves and cover is only needed for contents.

• A home let insurance policy will provide cover for LANDLORDS contents if requested. It will not cover TENANTS contents which must be insured by the tenant. Unlike a normal home insurance policy, cover will not usually extend to valuables kept in the home, all-risks cover is not available and in some case cover may be indemnity only, not new for old.

• A home let insurance will also include property owners liability (to cover you if for example a chimney stack fell down and damaged a car)

• Other covers will be loss of rent if the home is uninhabitable.

• Further details about the covers available can be found on the quotation results page - and a full key facts/ policy document will be sent to you before you buy the policy.

The Policy Excess

• With home let insurance, the policy excess will depend on the insurance company and the type of tenant.

• Policy excesses will vary from £50.00 (e.g. professional) up to £500 (e.g. asylum seekers)

• The excess for subsidence may be £1000 or £2500

• In addition a voluntary excess may be chosen of up to £10,000. Although this will result in a reduced premium, should you make a claim then you will have to pay out more yourself than the money you saved.

Thank you for visiting our page on home let insurance. To go back to the quote start for home let insurance just click here.