Property rental is one of those business types that can grow very rapidly, as you buy and rent out more homes to tenants. With rent prices at a very strong level at the moment, it’s not too difficult to be earning a lot more each month than is going out, making this a very successful business proposition if you’ve got the money and credit to get started. Things can still go wrong however, and when they do, you’ll want to make sure that you’ve got the backing you need. This will come in the form of specialist landlord insurance.
When you think about landlord insurance, the first thing to come into your head will undoubtedly be buildings cover, and this is for good reason. A significant catastrophe such as a major fire or flooding would leave you with both a seriously damaged property, and a loss of income. For this reason, comprehensive cover in this area is essential. If there’s a risk, cover it.
Leading on from this potential loss of income is rent cover. Your finances and business plan will revolve around you getting paid your rent when you expect, but this isn’t always necessarily going to happen. Even with all of the most stringent background checks, there’s always the chance that you’ll get a tenant that is either late with payments, or faces some sort of difficulty rendering them unable to pay. This in turn can make things troublesome for you, which is why it’s best to have your insurance provider cover you for missed rent payments. This way, you can rest assured that your business’ finances will tick over as you have planned.
There are other less important insurance additions that you may well want to include in your policy, and this will simply depend on the type of business you’re running, and the properties you’re letting out. If for instance some of your buildings contain a large number of furnishings, then it’s a good idea to get those covered too, as there’s always the chance that they’ll get damaged by a tenant, even if it’s an innocent accident. UKInsurancenet also state that subsidence cover isn’t always included in buildings insurance either.
So, to conclude, have a good chat with your insurance provider when you take out a policy to ensure that you’re getting absolutely everything you need. After all, they are there to protect your livelihood.
