Renting out your house can be a good way of raising a bit of extra cash, especially given the current economical climate and the fact that not many people are buying at the moment. We are lead to believe it is quite an easy process, simply spruce up your house, furniture is optional and hand over to a rental agent or estate agent who will find you some nice tenants who will look after it and you’ll only need to come in to redecorate every few years. For the most part this is exactly how it works, most tenants are conscious that the property is not theirs and treat it with care and respect. But for every 100 cases of good tenants there is one case of bad tenants and this is why landlords insurance is vital if you are considering renting your property out.

So what does landlords insurance cover? Well as you would expect landlords insurance covers the building in case of perils such as fire or floods and the contents side of it covers your possessions within the property against damages including fire, theft and malicious damage. Some comprehensive landlord insurance policies also cover legal expenses and even loss of rent. Landlords insurance also covers against liability claims made by tenants, for example a tenant may put in a claim if they fall down the stairs and hold the landlord liable.

Landlords insurance also covers fixtures and fitting such as carpets, flooring, kitchens and bathrooms as well as white goods, most also cover broken windows. It’s important to remember that landlords insurance tends to only cover theft if there are signs of forcible or violent entry or exit. You should also remember that landlords insurance does not cover any of your tenants possessions so they will need to take out their own contents insurance.
For the most part landlords never need to make a claim on their landlords insurance but if you ever do need to you’ll be glad you have it.