Rental Property Investments Require Commercial Insurance

In his article ‘Buy-To-Let Property Insurance – Make Sure You Don’t Go Without It’, James C Kerr sets our common mistakes made amongst residential RE investors and how to avoid them.

A common mistake amongst buy to let investors is not taking out specialist buy to let property insurance. Virtually all insurance companies view buy to lets as a commercial enterprise and as such require commercial insurance cover. If you attempt to make a claim on a rented property on a regular residential buildings or contents insurance policy the company may well reject the claim outright. This is not a situation any landlord want to find him or herself in so it pays to understand the differences between residential and buy to let insurance and make sure you get the correct policy.

One main difference is that buy to let insurance will allow your property to remain covered even if it is unoccupied for a long period of time. This takes into account the potential of an empty property in between tenancies that often occurs with buy to let properties.

Another big difference with buy to let insurance is that it provides ‘landlord liability cover’. Landlords owe their tenants a duty of care to provide a safe property in which to reside. Should an accident occur and a claim be taken out by the tenant then buy to let insurance will usually cover any such claims. One point worth remembering is that your company may set out certain guidelines which you should meet in order to meet your duty. These may include having annual gas and electrical safety inspections, or regular check ups by the letting agent or an independent surveyor.

When renting a property it is worth noting that you should only insure the buildings and your contents only. It is usually the tenants responsibility to insure his or her contents separately. You should check this with your insurance company and make it clear to your tenants.

If you would like further information about buy to let property insurance or buy to let investing in general please visit the authors website, frog finance.