Landlords Insurance

The rebuild cost is the amount it would cost to completely rebuild your property if it was destroyed beyond repair. It includes the price of labour and materials. This cost is usually lower than your property's sale price or market value, but it can also be higher. Basing your policy on your property’s rebuild cost will prevent you from over-insuring and paying higher premiums than necessary or alternatively being under-insured and having claim settlements reduced.

Calculating your rebuild cost in respect of a residential dwelling:

If you own a standard, brick-built home there are two ways to calculate your rebuild cost:

- Use the Building Cost Information Service’s house rebuilding cost calculator
- Hire a chartered surveyor to carry out a professional assessment

If your home is made from non-standard materials, has special architectural features, or if you live in a listed building, contact a chartered surveyor for advice.

Calculating your rebuild cost in respect of a commercial property:

Due to the wide variety of types of commercial properties and the nature of their construction, professional advice should be sought.

Buildings insurance covers the structure of the building and any permanent fixtures and fittings such as baths and fitted kitchens. However, if can it reasonably be removed and taken to another home, the item will fall under Contents Insurance and not generally covered by a Buildings policy. Buildings policies usually include outbuildings such as garages and garden sheds also. 

Contents insurance covers your personal possessions such as your television, furniture, clothes, jewellery. In other words, just about everything you would take with you if you moved.

The simple answer is “no”. To make a valid claim under the Loss of Rent section on a Property Owners’ policy, there must have been an insured peril in operation. For example, a fire or a flood which has damaged the property and led to the tenant having to move out.

To have a tenant who cannot, or will not, pay the rent, is a landlord's worst nightmare. Many with landlord insurance may be disappointed to find that unpaid rent is not covered.

Most landlord insurance policies include Buildings and Contents, Liability cover, Emergency Assistance and Legal cover - which pays out if you need to take tenants to court to evict them. Many policies also include ‘Loss of Rent’ cover, but this doesn’t mean they will pay out if their tenant simply falls into arrears. In most cases, it only reimburses lost rent for periods when a property is uninhabitable because of another insured event such as a fire or a flood.

Instead, to protect their income against tenants in arrears and deliberate defaulters, landlords need specialist rent guarantee protection.