confused about insurance for btl flat

kitla

I am about to let my leasehold flat. I pay a service charge which includes building insurance, presumably this covers the basic building. My tenant will get her own contents insurance. Which type of insurance will fill in the gap in the middle? To cover the kitchen, flooring, bathroom, internal doors,curtains, windows that get broken from inside etc.??

need_an_answer

The tenants deposit?

pop18

Check out landlord insurance policies, some will cover fixed fittings like kitchen cabinets.

kitla

I've tried to get quotes from several places, even after reading their lengthy articles about landlords being insured, they've only offered Buildings insurance which covers bathrooms, kitchens etc and rebuilding the whole block! or contents insurance for removable items. Nothing inbetween. Had an online chat with D/Line who said this is a common problem & I need to find a fixtures & fittings insurance for leaseholders. I havent found one yet, anyone any suggestions?

kitla

ok, good news on this, I found somewhere that do a landlords contents insurance that covers fixtures & fittings, flooring etc as well as liability cover for the tenant. Incase anyone else is hopelessly searching for something like this, the one I found is CIA.

There was one thing I still wondered about. The windows are covered by the freeholders buildings insurance, and suppose one got accidently broken or damaged by myself or my tenant, would the buildings insurance cover that? I doubt accidental damage is covered, presume we'd just have to pay out to replace it. Just curious as the living room window is the height & width of the room.

G_M

The buildings policy provided by the freeholder (or their management compan) should cover the structure, and fittings.

But if in doubt, ask your freeholder for a copy and read it!

Te freeholder does know (and approve) you are letting the property yes? Some leases permit this, some don't, some require leaseholders to seek permission. Read yur lease.

So long as the freeholder knows/agrees, the buildings policy they provide should be fine with tenants in place.

The only gap is your contents - white goods, curtains etc. If a stand-alone olicy for £5K can be found, fine, but if not, well, the risk is small, and if the damage is done by the tenant, that's what the deposit is for.