Tenant Insurance - Are you properly covered?
So you are happily settled into your new home. Furniture straight, everything else unpacked and put away. Feet up in front of the latest flat screen TV with a cuppa or a glass of Vino and glad that the whole business of moving is finally done with. Before you get too relaxed though, best check your insurance policy.
As a tenant you are fully responsible for insuring your own possessions. Hazards like fire, flood and burglary can cause enormous damage and financial loss, not to mention hassle and stress. Finding out too late that you have insufficient insurance cover could prove to be devastating.
Not only that but did you know that you may be liable for damage to the landlords property?
Before you do anything else, can you quickly estimate how much it would cost to replace everything that you own? Sofa, TV, pictures, clothes, iPod, Laptop etc. For most people this easily runs into thousands of pounds. Could you really afford to replace everything in one go?
What about the property itself? How would you cope if you also had to pay out for damage to the building or landlords contents?
This is not exactly a far-fetched scenario. Whilst the landlords policy should cover the building for certain risks, this is normally attributed to failure within the property and services such as gas, electric & water. A tenant may be liable for example if the damage is as a result of their own actions - negligent, accidental or otherwise. These could include spilt wine, iron burns on carpets or damage to the property as a result of a faulty appliance.
The good news is that tenant’s insurance cover does not have to be expensive.
Click here to go to our Insurance page for information & online quotes
Please note, whilst we strongly advise all tenants to have adequate insurance, we are not authorised to give advice on individual insurance policies. You should seek independent advice from an insurance company or agent. Our online quoting system links to third party agents who are fully responsible for their own content and information.
Robin Burnage CRLM FARLA
8th February 2010
Robin Burnage has been a successful portfolio landlord for nearly fifteen years and a Letting Agent since June 2002. He holds an advanced qualification – Certificate in Residential Letting and Property Management – and in recognition of his dedication is a Fellow of the Association of Residential Letting Agents (FARLA). Outside of work he enjoys motorcycling and sailing for which he is an RYA Qualified Yachtmaster.
