Tenant Insurance

moksha_2

My son and his girlfriend are about to move into an unfurnished rented house. They have been told by the letting agents they have to have something called 'tenants insurance' and were given a company to contact who have quoted them around £200!

Obviously they want to shop around but we dont really know where to start. Is it just content insurance? Surely the landlord will have buildings insurance? Anything we should look for? As they're just setting up home i think the value of their contents is currently very low

Any advice much appreciated.

InsideInsurance

Tenants insurance is simply home contents insurance with a different name, generally for estate agents to be able to sell their over priced offerings.

Almost all home contents insurance includes a clause for tenants liability but worth double checking its there in case you are looking at the ultra budget end

moksha_2

Thank you! That was a fast response. We did wonder if the fact the letting agent was involved meant a premium was being paid.

Do you think using the usual search engines will be okay? For my own insurance I go through this sites recommended list of searches.

Hate to hassle you more but do you know at what point do they say they're tenants?

InsideInsurance

You can use whatever methods you want for locating it.

When do they say they are tenants to the insurers? Normally very close to the beginning of the question set is a question of what your relationship is to the property (owners, mortgaged, renting/ tenants etc) or a "who owns the property" (again private tenant is an option)

macman

They don't have to have any such insurance in order to be tenants-especially since the property is unfurnished-what possible interest is it to the landlord? It's none of the landlord's or agent's business. But of course it's pretty stupid not to have contents insurance-which they presumably already have on their existing property?
The agent will simply be seeking a referral fee-which will ultimately be paid for by your son in his premium.

moksha_2

Thats a good point macman. It appears its part of the tenancy agreement but i'll check that out when he gets home.

They dont currently have their own insurance as they're living back at home until uni restarts and this is a private let not a student let as my son is working as well as doing a full time degree

InsideInsurance

They can make it a contractual requirement if they want irrespective of what the Landlord has in the property. Plus presumably the flat still has walls, windows, kitchen units, sanitaryware etc all of which a tenant could cause accidental damage to and would be covered by a tenants/ home insurance policy

macman

Er, I think you'll find that permanent fixtures and fittings (walls and windows) are covered by the LL's buildings insurance!
If it's in the STA then just tell him to strike it out, initial it and call their bluff.
I doubt that it's any more enforceable in law than specifying to the tenant which utility supplier they must use (they'll probably try that one on as well, so warn him).

InsideInsurance

It would be but if it is the tenants fault that they are damaged the landlord would want to claim off of the tenant rather than their insurance and see a spike in that.

They could ask for the clause to be removed but depending on how the market is they may or may not be willing to negotiate on contract wordings. At the end of the day insurance is sensible and so it probably is worth buying it anyway.

moksha_2

InsideInsurance and macman, you've been incredibly helpful. Thank you so much. I appreciate your time, your thoughts and feedback.

macman

I'm not disputing the need for contents insurance, But it should not be necessary to purchase it through an agent as a condition of a tenancy agreement just so he/she can get their grubby kickback. It's for the tenant to decide, and none of the LL's business.
The landlord hold a deposit in order to cover any damage to fixture and fittings.