Home Contents Insurance For a Let Flat

emsiepemsie

Hi

I'm intending on letting my one bed flat (first time landlord). Is anyone aware of a specific home contents insurance that I should apply for? As the LL I obviously need to keep up the contents insurance as I'd be responsible for costs if there was a leak etc, plus my carpets and some furniture will remain at the property.

Any ideas? Plus any tips for a new LL would be gratefully received!

Thanks

taxsaver

Just google LL insurance and you'll find plenty of choice and most of them will happily cover some contents as well as the building. I generally have about £4k-5k to cover carpets, curtains, any white goods etc.

poppysarah

You need to look for landlord furnished property insurance - or just ring and ask who you have the buildings cover with how much it is.

You will need to do electric checks on electrical items you leave I think.

Werdnal

I agree LL insurance is the thing you want, but it depends on how much contents value you are actually leaving, whether it is worth insuring. We have an unfurnished flat, with just carpets/vinyl, curtains, and a shower supplied by us, and we don't bother with insurance to cover this as we keep a contengency fund out of the rent should we need to replace them. Infact we had a minor flood last November and paid to replace all the floor coverings ourselves - quicker that waiting for insurance company to come out and no increase in premiums dumped on us next year!

Of course, if you are leaving furniture and fitted appliances, insurance would be a good idea to cover these. Have you got buildings cover too (if it is a flat my guess is buildings is covered on the freeholder's policy but you might want to check this and confirm what is covered). In my opinion this is much more important, as fire or flood damage to the building is much more costly than replacing contents, and I think some policies cover rehousing a tenant if property is uninhabitable awaiting repairs.

I would second electrical testing of any appliances you leave. Whilst not compulsory, it is peace of mind that there will be no claims against you should tenant injure themselves on faulty appliances. Also, if you are leaving furniture, check its fire retardancy. Most modern stuff is within guidelines for not giving off toxic fumes in event of fire, but if its old or secondhand, make sure its sound.

As a newbie LL, I take it you are aware of all the other requirements for letting? Read, learn and inwardly digest everything you can on this forum, as it can be a minefield for the uninitiated, but perfectly manageable if you do all your homework first.