Knowledge Centre

Landlords Podcast

25th November 2008 Duration: 4m 54s File size: 2.2MB

This podcast has been revised in line with the changes in the housing market. Matthew Wood looks at what sort of things insurers will take into account when assessing the insurance needs of a landlord, and explores the cover and benefits typically covered and where you can find more information on landlords insurance.

The MORE TH>N BUSINESS Podcast with Matthew Wood. The credit crunch which has seen house prices falling over the last year may be fuelling a lettings boom which is good news for landlords. And whether you have residential or commercial property to let there's a competitive market out there when it comes to insuring it, which means there are good deals to be had. Matthew Wood – MORE TH>N BUSINESS: Prices have been coming down - it really depends on where your property is, but also on the type of tenants that you have. Jane Markham - Podcats: So it's all down to your tenants and that all important ‘location’. Where have I heard that one before? I'm Jane Markham and today we're looking at insurance for landlords. Matthew Wood from MORE TH>N BUSINESS. Matthew: The biggest risk landlords have is that if something does happen to the property - a fire or flood or any type of issue like that - the tenants obviously will have to be put up somewhere else and that's often the landlord's duty to do that. But also they'll lose money as well because they might not have tenants in a property for quite a long amount of time and it's just as important for a landlord to make sure a property is well refurbished if it is in a flood or does have a fire of some kind. Jane: There are some risks you can't insure against. Matthew: Well you can't obviously insure against the loss of value in your property and you can't insure against not having tenants and if all of sudden the demand for lettings property drops that is just something a landlord will face as part of being a businessman or businesswoman. Jane: So what sort of things do insurers take into account when assessing your insurance needs? Matthew: There's a massive range of people who need rental property and that can be anybody from a student through to a full family. Insurers will want to look at what type of people you've got in your property - that doesn't necessarily mean that they're bad people or they don't want to take on your risk but if it's students that you generally let out to there is often a high turnover of tenants in your property and therefore the property might be likely to be unoccupied for an amount of time which is often a concern for insurers. Jane: And there are as many types of landlord out there as there are different types of property. Matthew: Sometimes people might have a property left to them in a will and they might not want to sell that, but at the same time they don't want to leave it empty, so they can let that out to people. And then you have other people who go really full time for this stuff - continually acquiring more properties, commercial and residential having a mixed portfolio. They work a real full time job, they are really tight on time and also margins are getting squeezed now more than ever so getting the right insurance deal is important to these people. Jane: And with commercial property there are extra things to take into consideration. Matthew: It tends to be a more complicated marketplace and there are a lot more things to take into account like what type of business is going to be in to that property and that's what your insurer is going to be interested in because, obviously, if you've got someone selling stationery from your commercial premises, that you let, they are going to see that differently from someone that's maybe running a sawmill… Jane: Enough said! So where do you go to get the best deal? Matthew: Traditionally people have tended to go to brokers for this type of insurance because it is perceived to be complex and because they don't really know where to start. But there are a lot of insurance companies that are providing products direct now and although they can't necessarily advise you on what's out there in the market they can certainly let you know what's on offer. Jane: And things are changing since the heady days of the property boom. Matthew: It can be a difficult place to be at the moment and especially with the credit crunch a lot of landlords might find, where previously it was very easy to get buy to let mortgages for their next property in their portfolio, that doesn't happen as easily now and certainly the government has introduced a lot of legislation and red tape over the years as this has become a bigger market, which makes things complicated for people. It seems like they have a lot to keep track off but certainly along with your insurance there is obviously the standard benefits you get with any insurance - which is peace of mind. And a lot of people underestimate the addition features that an insurance product can have and this could be something along the lines of a legal helpline - or even tax advice or health and safety advice. Jane: And if you'd like more information about insurance for landlords go to www.morethanbusiness.com or you can call 0800 294 2416. For your protection calls may be recorded or monitored.

I'm Jane Markham and this is a Podcats production for MORE TH>N BUSINESS.

Post to:

What are these?

Business insurance is issued by Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance plc, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (Reg No. 202323). All offers subject to availability. For your protection, telephone calls may be recorded or monitored. Discounts based on prices available for like-for-like RSA policies.

Site by Acknowledgement