What is covered in a landlord's home insurance policy?

Home insurance policies exist to provide a financial safety net during unforeseen circumstances in order to protect you from major losses.

In light of this, it is also important to understand that a standard home insurance policy might cover everything you, as a unique individual, own. This is why there are different types of home insurance policies available in the market, providing coverage for different things.

As a landlord, it is recommended to get a landlord insurance policy because it protects you, as a landlord, from risks associated with your rental property.

There are primary 5 types of home insurance policies:

1. Home contents insurance
2. Building insurance
3. Buildings and contents insurance
4. Holiday home insurance
5. Unoccupied home insurance

What is a landlord's insurance policy?

A landlord's insurance policy is a policy that protects your rented property against any damage, along with your contents inside the building and any legal expenses associated with letting out a house.

While landlord insurance is not mandatory under the law, it is always a good idea to have such a policy in place to protect you from any sort of rent loss, malicious tenants, or unexpected damage.

It also covers the cost of rebuilding the property in the event of loss or damage.

You can opt for different types of landlord's insurance policies depending on the level of coverage required. Some of these policies include:

• Building insurance
• Contents insurance
• Emergency cover
• Rent guarantee
• Legal and liability insurance

What does the landlord's insurance cover?

A landlord's insurance policy usually covers the following:

• Building insurance usually covers any sort of damage to the external structure of the property caused by natural disasters such as a fire, flood, or storm. Damage caused by theft or vandalism is also covered under this.
• Content insurance typically protects all your belongings inside the house in case you've rented out a fully furnished home or have supplied any items. Note that tenants' belongings are not covered under this insurance, they will need to get their own renters' insurance.
• Rent guarantee insurance and loss of rent insurance protect against a failure of payment by tenants. The rent guarantee insurance comes into play when a tenant hasn't paid rent for a few months despite being requested to do so. Loss of rent insurance covers rent when the inability to pay is due to tenants having to move out because of an insured event such as an earthquake.
• Legal expenses cover legal costs due to unpaid rent, removal of squatters, or any disputes. Liabilities such as injury caused to an employee working at the site or claims against the landlord due to injury or damage caused to a tenant are also covered.

You can take all of these covers either separately or club them according to your requirements.

As you learn about landlords insurance, it's important to understand what home insurance policies cover in general to make a well-informed decision.

Add-ons you can make to a landlord's insurance

Add-ons or optional policies are additional covers you can add to your standard landlords' policy to expand the level of coverage. These include:

• Accidental damage to the building or any contents.
• Emergency cover protects against burst pipes or boiler failure and gives service within 24 hours to fix the problem.
• Unoccupied insurance covers your property for long periods of time when you are finding new tenants.

In order to make an informed decision, it's important to look at the key factors that determine your home insurance premium cost and choose the best suited policy.

Also check out a few tips to keep in mind to get the cheapest home insurance in Ireland.