Landlord Home Emergency Cover

Landlord home emergency cover is essentially landlord boiler breakdown insurance, but it covers other domestic emergencies too – for example, blocked drains, or pest infestations. It provides help 24/7 from a qualified contractor arranged for you if a sudden unexpected event causes damage to your rented property, makes it unsafe or unsecure to stay in or creates a health risk to your tenant(s).

A home emergency is classed as 'a serious, unexpected and often dangerous situation within the property that requires immediate action.' Landlord home emergency cover provides you and your tenants for assistance with:

• Loss of power supply
• Plumbing emergencies
• Blocked/leaking drains, sinks, baths, shower wastes
• Routine plumbing and drainage repairs
• External water supply pipe repairs
• Household emergencies
• Heating system/hot water breakdowns
• Radiators and pipework repair
• Lost keys
• Vermin infestations
• Alternative accommodation costs

A limit of £500 per landlord emergency cover insurance claim applies.

Yes, your tenants can call us directly. All they need to provide is the policy number (make sure that you provide this to them) and the address they live at.

No, landlord emergency cover insurance cannot be bought in isolation but it is an add-on you can choose when you buy a landlords insurance policy. You can also add it to an existing landlords policy midterm; you don’t have to wait until renewal.

Yes, landlord home emergency cover can be added to all your policies at a cost of £59.99 (including IPT of 12%) per property.

Landlord home emergency cover costs £59.99 (including IPT of 12%) for a year. We will pay up to £500 per claim in total and cover:

• Contractor’s call-out fee
• Labour costs
• Parts and repair materials
• Cost of alternative accommodation up to £250

It's important to be aware of the limitations of home emergency cover. Home emergency insurance will only patch-up the emergency – for instance boarding up and securing a broken window. To get a replacement you might have to claim on your general landlords’ insurance policy.

Home emergency insurance will also only kick-in for real emergencies. General wear and tear, or events which aren’t causing your property ongoing damage or your tenants immediate issues, won’t be counted.

As with all insurance policies, it’s important to read the small print of what you’re getting, and all the inclusions and exclusions. There’s no point getting a home emergency policy on your 20-year-old boiler if the terms and conditions state the boiler needs to be less than 15 years old.

Note our policies exclude holiday homes, houses of multiple occupation and roof damage to any insured property.

No, landlords aren’t required to have home emergency insurance. It can, however, come in useful for landlords who manage their own properties but can’t be hands-on. So, if you live far away from some of your rental properties, don’t have any trusted tradesmen on speed dial, or simply don’t want to be the person sorting out a plumber at 3am - it could be a useful cover for you. It’s could also be a financially savvy option if your business can’t cover large, unexpected expenses, but can cover a smaller monthly fee.

To help you spread the cost of your landlord insurance premiums, we offer a quick and easy direct debit scheme for spreading payment over ten months. Please visit our dedicated Direct Debit page to find out more.