Student Landlord Contents Insurance

Landlord insurance when you rent to students is not necessarily different from a typical landlord insurance policy. Not all insurers are able to cover students, but a specialist insurance provider like Towergate will go to a panel of insurers on your behalf to find cover based on your specific needs. If you rent to students, just let us know what you need to cover and we’ll help find insurance to fit your student let.

We've all been young and our attitude to risk can vary considerably. Whilst we can't stereotype all students as being the same, it's generally accepted that they can pose a greater risk in the eyes of an insurer. Hence the number of insurers able to provide cover will be limited.

First and foremost, you need to inform your insurance provider as the continued availability of cover will vary according to circumstances and particularly the period of unoccupancy. Typically, policies will continue to provide full cover for up to a maximum period of 30 days. Thereafter, cover is likely to be restricted to fire, lightning, explosion and aircraft cover (FLEA cover) and you will also be asked to take various measures to prevent loss or damage to the property, such as an inspection of the property at least every 7 days by a competent person which has been recorded as completed. All mains services will need to be turned off at the mains and water pipes and heating systems must be drained.

When an insurer agrees to provide cover for a vacant or unoccupied property, they will usually restrict it to fire, lightning, explosion and aircraft after 30 days of full cover. This is commonly abbreviated by the insurance community to 'FLEA'. By doing this, cover for a range of perils such as storm, flood, escape of water, impact, theft, malicious damage will be excluded.

Many of our customers often assume incorrectly that the rebuild price is the same as the market value. Market value represents the cost to buy the property and reflects the type, size and location. This bears no relation to the actual cost of rebuilding the property at today’s prices. Of course in the event of a claim there will be the additional costs associated with demolition, site clearance, debris removal and professional fees such as surveyors and architects as well as the building materials or labour costs to re-build.

It is important that you are insured for the current rebuilding costs, as in the event of underinsurance many insurers will reduce insurance payments proportionately to the amount of underinsurance.

Yes, we specialise in finding insurance policies for landlords with multiple properties. In fact if you have between 1 and 50 properties we can often find you discounts on the policies and the administration fees. By insuring all properties under a single policy, you will have just the one insurance policy on one renewal date and one premium to pay. We can provide a breakdown of the premium so that you can split this amongst your properties.

We can also include any new policies mid-term so you can keep the same renewal date for all your properties in a single portfolio.

If you or your designated agent are unable to visit your property due to a COVID-19 period of government-enforced self-isolation/lockdown , and you have taken reasonable steps to try to protect the property, the unoccupied property inspection element of your policy may not be suspended. Please speak to your adviser to confirm.

While landlord insurance is not a legal requirement, your mortgage lender may require that you do so. Also, the responsibilities in your tenancy agreement may be best served by an insurance agreement, especially to avoid putting your financial future at risk.

The standard perils landlord insurance covers you for are the same as standard home insurance. They are things like fire, floods, escape of water, subsidence etc. The differences can be things like loss of keys, loss of rent, conditions on leaving it unoccupied, etc. Our online quote system or adviser will be able to discuss your requirements and find something that suits your needs exactly.

You can claim for loss of rent if your building is uninhabitable due to damage or an accident which is covered by the rest of the policy. Some of the policies offered by our panel can also insure your property whilst it is empty. This only covers you for damage whilst the property is already empty though, and therefore won’t cover your lost rent.

Yes. We can cover loss of keys, and the replacement of locks and damage from an emergency access. Say your tenants vacate your property and keep a set of keys, or whilst unoccupied you lose the master set. Replacing the locks and keys – or, worse, having to break in – in an emergency during the time you lose your keys can cost a considerable amount. We can offer peace of mind knowing these easy accidents can be covered by your landlord insurance.

Whilst our online insurance portal offers suitable cover to a large proportion of our landlord customers, we always advise speaking to our advisers directly if you have anything out of the ordinary, want specific cover for something or want to discuss ways to get cover even cheaper. We can often discuss lowering areas of cover you may not need, or want, or help you source a discount.

As a specialist broker, we pride ourselves on understanding our customers’ needs and finding them a policy that offers the most suitable landlord insurance, at the right price. However, sometimes this is best done over the phone.

A lot of landlords with coach houses to rent find it a struggle to get the right cover (or any cover at all) with high street insurers or online. Because we have access to large proportions of the insurance market and have good relationships with the insurers themselves we can find coach house policies that others can’t. You will need to speak directly to one of our advisers though!

As long as the building is on the deeds to the property, be it a garage, out building or annex we’ll be able to help you find the right landlord insurance policy. The tenant will need to occupy the property too. This means if you rent the garage or annex separately you may need to look to cover these on separate policies.

We can provide malicious damage insurance. This doesn’t necessarily come as standard on all policies from our panel of insurers so make sure you ask us for it when you call us or get a quote online.

With malicious damage cover in place, if a tenant damages your building or your contents, you’ll be able to claim and we’ll do our best to recover the cost of the damage caused. So if a tenant spray paints your walls or slashes your sofas, we’ll sort it for you.

If you need cover for subsidence, we can provide it. However, there is a “but” – if your property has a history of subsidence we’ll require an inspection of the property to establish the risk of further damage before we provide cover.

All insurers are wary of properties with subsidence, even if it was 10 years ago, but usually we won’t have trouble finding you insurance as long as you can provide the correct paperwork to prove the initial cause has been dealt with and subsequent checks have been made. Speak to us on the phone, or via email, and we can discuss your options with you.

Insurance is all about covering risks. Statistically, tenants such as DSS and students pose more of a risk to your property. After all, it’s no secret that students like to party!

Some insurers or brokers simply won’t cover you if you have high risk tenants living in your property. Here at Towergate however, we can provide cover for a wide range of tenant types. So, if for example, that student party gets a bit out of hand and a window gets accidentally broken, you’ll be covered under the accidental damage section of your policy (if you’ve asked for that to be included in your policy).

Absolutely. We really value experienced landlords and know that when you’ve been at it for a while, you tend to be lower risk. With that in mind, we reward careful and experienced landlords with reduced rates.

We can provide cover for a wide range of tenant types. So, if for example, that student party gets a bit out of hand and a window gets accidentally broken, you’ll be covered under the accidental damage section of your policy (if you’ve asked for that to be included in your policy).

Yes, we specialise in finding insurance policies for landlords with multiple properties. In fact if you have between 1 and 50 properties we can often find you discounts on the policies and the administration fees.

We can also include any new policies pro-rata, meaning you can keep the same renewal date for all your properties.

HMO landlord insurance is insurance for landlords who rent houses in multiple occupation. Terms are slightly different to those of a regular landlord insurance policy and you will need to register the property as an HMO in order to get a HMO insurance policy. Thereafter, it’s very similar to a standard landlord insurance policy and can cover property owners' liability, risks to the building and risks posed by tenants.

The lease on HMO insurance properties is different and due to the number of people inhabiting the property, the address must be registered as an HMO residence. HMO insurance presents a considerably higher risk as there are multiple occupants, it requires that the premises must be the occupant’s main place of residence or used by students during term time.

The cost of landlord HMO insurance can vary considerably depending on the size of the building, number and of tenants, and more. Experienced landlords, like those who offer DSS property rental are likely to get a discount on Towergate policies and equally, if you have multiple properties, like a block of flats, we will usually be able to get you a better deal. Speak to the team to find out how we can help.

The lease on HMO insurance properties is different and due to the number of people inhabiting the property, the address must be registered as an HMO residence. HMO insurance presents a considerably higher risk as there are multiple occupants, it requires that the premises must be the occupant’s main place of residence or used by students during term time.

To help you spread the cost of your 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.

If you would like to know more about our monthly payment option, please visit our dedicated Direct Debit page.