Property is often one of the largest and financially rewarding investments we make, to let out that property to tenants can be financially rewarding, and therefore must be protected.
As a landlord you must buy landlords home insurance to protect your liability - if your tenant was to suffer an electric shock from a wobbly plug socket for example, or trip over a frayed carpet - you are liable for damages - which can often be extensive.
As the property owner you are also liable for damage your tenants may cause to adjoining or nearby property too. Landlords home insurance will protect your liability if your tenant was to start a fire and it spread to the house next door for example - damages which could extend into the hundreds of thousands if not more!
Landlords home insurance is a 'must have', and even if you know your tenants and are sure they would not seek damages from you - you cannot rely on their guests, the neighbours, or passers by having the same loyalty, if a slate flies off the roof and strikes the postman - he is unlikely to simply 'let you off' just because he has delivered the mail to your house for the past few years!
It is often claimed that landlords home insurance can be expensive and unnecessary, these claims are simply used as an excuse for landlords to save a few pounds, not thinking through the implications of not being insured. There are all the obvious risks such as flooding, fire, malicious damage etc...
Which can be affordable to repair in some cases. Some landlords would rather pay out for damage such as those rather than pay a policy excess, or rely on being able to claim the money back from the tenant. I wonder how many of those landlords have considered a total loss? What if the tenant burns the house to the ground? I don't think the tenants deposit would cover the site clearance, rebuilding, and re-fitting of the entire property - every last brick! Don't forget - for mortgaged properties, the mortgage company are unlikely to hold the mortgage payments, purely because the landlord did not buy landlords home insurance.
Cheap landlords insurance does exist, and providing you understand what is, and most importantly - what is not included - it is possible to not overspend and dwindle profits away on insurance.
