What’s landlord insurance?
Landlord insurance protects landlords against the risks of renting out a property.
Depending on your property type and situation, you can insure the building and contents together or separately. It's peace of mind for busy people like you, safeguarding against things like loss of rent and unoccupancy.
You can get optional add-ons like landlord legal protection, which can help with legal costs, and landlord emergency cover, which temporarily fixes things like plumbing issues and boiler total breakdown.
You can protect up to five properties on your policy.
Do I need landlord insurance?
Landlord insurance isn't a legal requirement, but buy-to-let mortgages usually need you to have specialist cover in place.
Standard home insurance won't cover you for everything a buy-to-let property needs – for example, you could face an invalidated claim if you have rented your home out.
What does landlord insurance cover?
Landlord insurance typically covers things like:
Storms
We'll protect you against damage caused by severe weather, as long as you've kept your property well-maintained.
Find out more about what to do during a storm and what to check afterwards on our storm weather hub.
Escape of water
We'll help you out with burst pipes and other plumbing damage in your property.
Fire and smoke
If your property is damaged by fire or smoke, we'll be there to lend a helping hand.
Costs if legal action is brought against you (property owner's liability)
Property owner's liability is a part of your policy which helps cover costs if legal action is brought against you.
This could be because one of your tenants was injured or even accidentally died due to of an issue on your property.
The cost of rebuilding your home (buildings sum insured)
'Buildings sum insured' is how much it would cost to rebuild your property. It's not the same as the value of your house if you wanted to sell it, or how much you bought your house for.
If your property is damaged beyond repair in an accident, this part of your policy will cover you for the demolition and rebuild of your house.
Alternative accommodation and loss of rent
If your property isn't fit to live in due to loss or damage that's come from an insured incident, we'll either pay:
- the amount of rent you won't be able to get while your tenants are staying elsewhere, or
- the reasonable cost of temporary accommodation for your tenants and their pets while your property is being repaired
Employer's liability
You might be paying people to maintain your property, like cleaners or gardeners.
The 'employer's liability' part of your policy protects you if one of these people is accidentally injured or falls ill while doing the work you employ them to do.
What isn't covered?
What's not covered by your policy might be different depending on which cover tier you have.
Typically, our landlord insurance won't cover:
- Accidental or malicious damage - sudden, unexpected, deliberate and visible loss or damage. You can buy this as an add-on or it's included in some Gold and Platinum policies.
- Storm damage to your fence or gate - learn more about how we define storm damage on our storm hub.
- Wear and tear - this refers to damage over time, like wet or dry rot, sunlight exposure, subsidence and worn carpets.
- Tenant belongings - we can't cover damage to or theft of tenant belongings.
- Pet damage - like scratching and chewing.
- Claims less than your excess - this is where the excess is more than the claim's value (for example, if the damage cost is £100 but you have a £200 excess, you can't make a claim).
- Over five properties - we only insure up to five properties on each policy
However, always refer to your policy document to find what is and isn't covered.
Read our policy book for more information on what's covered. If you're an existing customer, please check MyAccount or your policy book to see your cover limits.
Compare our cover levels
Combined Insurance
This is your general landlord insurance, which combines buildings and contents. It's usually cheaper than buying both separately, and may be the right fit if you rent out a furnished house.
However, we suggest that leaseholders check whether the freeholder has already arranged buildings insurance, to avoid doubling up on cover.
Our combined policy includes:
- up to £75k contents sum insured
- up to £1k for replacement locks and keys
- contents removal and temporary storage for Gold and Platinum
- loss or damage during a storm - our storm hub defines what a storm is
- alternative accommodation and loss of rent
Combined Insurance cover available on each tier as standard.
| Admiral | Admiral Gold |
Admiral Platinum |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Buildings sum insured | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Property owner's liability |
£1m |
£2m |
£2m |
| Employer's liability |
£5m |
||
| Alternative accommodation & loss of rent |
£30K |
£75K |
£100K |
| Replacement locks & keys |
£500 |
£750 |
£1K |
| Emergency access |
£500 |
£1K |
£2.5K |
| Loss of metered water/oil |
£500 |
£1K |
£2.5K |
| Sale of property | |||
| Unauthorised use of gas/electric/water |
£1K |
£2.5K |
|
| Trace and access |
£5K |
£10K |
|
| Unoccupancy | 30 Days |
60 Days |
90 Days |
| Contents sum insured |
£25K |
£50K |
£75K |
| Contents removal & temporary storage | |||
| Theft from garages and outbuildings |
£1.5K |
£5K |
|
| Garden contents |
£1K |
£2.5K |
Contents Insurance
Contents insurance covers things inside your rented home, such as theft and vandalism. It's a good option if you're renting out a flat.
If you’re a leaseholder, fixtures and fittings damage is included as standard on a contents only policy (subject to exclusions).
This includes carpets, laminate tiles, and sanitary ware. Please make sure the value of these are included in the contents total you tell us, as well as any furniture yo're responsible for.
Our contents policy includes:
- up to £75k contents sum insured
- up to £1k for replacement locks and keys
- contents removal and temporary storage for Gold and Platinum
- leaseholder fixtures and fittings
- alternative accommodation and loss of rent
Contents Insurance cover available on each tier as standard.
| Admiral | Admiral Gold |
Admiral Platinum |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Contents sum insured |
£25K |
£50K |
£75K |
| Property owner's liability |
£1M |
£2M |
£2M |
| Alternative accommodation & loss of rent |
£10K |
£15K |
£25K |
| Replacement locks & keys |
£500 |
£750 |
£1K |
| Contents removal & temporary storage | |||
| Theft from garages and outbuildings |
£1.5K |
£5K |
|
| Garden contents |
£1K |
£2.5K |
|
| Leaseholder fixtures and fittings |
Buildings Insurance
Buildings insurance helps pay for damage to your rented home's structure and fittings. It also protects your garages, outbuildings and any other permanently fixed structure.
It's the minimum level of cover we'd recommend for rented properties and is available on each tier as standard. However, we suggest that leaseholders check whether the freeholder has already arranged buildings insurance, to avoid doubling up on cover.
Our buildings policy includes:
- unlimited buildings sum insured
- unoccupancy cover up to 90 days
- up to £1k for replacement locks and keys
- fixtures and fittings
- cover for loss or damage during a storm - our storm hub defines what a storm is
- alternative accommodation and loss of rent
Buildings Insurance cover available on each tier as standard.
| Admiral | Admiral Gold |
Admiral Platinum |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Buildings sum insured | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Property owner's liability |
£1m |
£2m |
£2m |
| Employer's liability |
£5m |
||
| Alternative accommodation & loss of rent |
£30K |
£75K |
£100K |
| Replacement locks & keys |
£500 |
£750 |
£1K |
| Emergency access |
£500 |
£1K |
£2.5K |
| Loss of metered water/oil |
£500 |
£1K |
£2.5K |
| Sale of property | |||
| Unauthorised use of gas/electric/water |
£1K |
£2.5K |
|
| Trace and access |
£5K |
£10K |
|
| Unoccupancy |
30 Days |
60 Days |
90 Days |
Optional add-ons
-
Tenant damage to buildings
Add cover for accidental or malicious damage and vandalism caused by your tenant(s). You can buy this as an add-on, or it's included as standard on Platinum policies.
-
Tenant theft
Loss or damage cover to your property caused by theft or attempted theft by your tenant(s). You can buy this as an add-on, or it’s included as standard on Platinum policies.
-
Landlord Legal Protection
Up to £100k help with legal fees and access to a free 24/7 legal helpline. Read more about Landlord Legal Protection.
-
Landlord Emergency cover
Get up to £500 per claim for temporary repairs and a 24/7 emergency helpline. Read more about Landlord Emergency cover.
Find more information about the optional extras and any waiting times in our policy books.
Save money with MultiCover Insurance
Bundle up to five buy-to-let properties, your home and cars together on one policy to get a MultiCover deal. Everything renews on the same date for zero hassle.
More about multicoverWhat you need to get a landlord insurance quote
To get a quote, you'll need the following information:
Your details
- name
- contact information
- address
- job title
Property details
- wall and roof type
- garages
- flood history
- signs of subsidence
Rental details
- number of rental properties you own
- tenant reference checks
- rental income
Claims
- claims you or anyone living at the property have made in the last five years
- losses made at the property in the last five years
What type of property does landlord insurance cover?
Our landlord insurance policies are available on all residential property types, including:
However, we can only provide contents insurance to leasehold properties.
Award-winning cover
Our Platinum Combined cover has achieved Defaqto's 5 Star Rating
Your questions answered
Do I need contents insurance as a landlord?
You can cover some contents with a combined or contents-only landlord insurance policy.
If you're a leaseholder, it's worth checking what cover you have with the freeholder of the building as they will usually arrange buildings insurance.
Our contents policy includes cover for fixtures and fittings that you're responsible for.
As with all insurance policies, please check our policy book for any exclusions.
Do I need buildings insurance when purchasing a buy-to-let?
If you're the freeholder of a buy-to-let it's your responsibility to insure the building, not the tenant's. You'll need to arrange buildings cover to make sure you're covered.
Does landlord insurance cover boiler replacement?
Landlord Emergency cover doesn't cover boiler replacements, but we'll cover a temporary repair if your boiler completely fails.
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