As a landlord, it’s good to have the added protection of insurance, even though you hopefully won’t need to use it.
But what are the most common claims that landlords around the UK make, and how can you avoid them?
Our Claims team shares the most common landlord insurance claims below.
The most common types of landlord insurance claims
1. Accidental damage
One of the most common types of claim we see is for accidental damage.
Some examples of this include:
- spilling a glass of wine on the carpet
- accidentally hitting a pipe during DIY work
- a football smashing your window
Accidental damage is a home and landlord insurance add-on that can be added to your policy and covers you for accidents in your property.
It’s important to note that this doesn’t cover damage to tenants’ belongings. If they want to protect their own belongings, they’ll need to take out renter’s insurance.
2. Storm damage
Extreme weather like storms can damage both the inside and outside of a property, and we often see claims for this type of damage during storm season.
We define a storm as:
- wind with gusts of at least 55mph
- heavy rainfall at a rate of at least 25mm per hour
- snow to a depth of at least 30cm in 24 hours
- hail that causes damage to hard surfaces or breaks glass
We often see claims for broken windows and damaged roofing, with the damage ranging from minor to severe.
3. Escape of water
Escape of water is what happens when water in a building ends up where it shouldn’t be. This could be caused by a burst pipe or blocked guttering, for example.
Escape of water claims tend to be more frequent in the winter, as freezing weather is usually the top cause of burst pipes.
4. Fire damage
Whether it’s from an electrical fault or an overheating tumble dryer, fires can be catastrophic to your property.
At-home fires are also very common, so it’s no surprise that one of the top claims for landlord insurance is for fire damage.
5. Theft
Unfortunately, theft isn’t uncommon. Landlord insurance can protect you against the theft of your belongings in the rented property by others or even your tenants.
Our landlord insurance doesn’t cover theft by tenants as standard, but this can be added onto your landlord insurance policy.
We also offer landlord legal protection for legal issues between you and your tenant.
Other common landlord claims
Other common claims that landlords make are for loss of rent and malicious damage.
Malicious damage is covered as standard by Admiral’s Landlord Insurance, but malicious damage by the tenant would need to be added to the policy.
Helping you to avoid landlord insurance claims
It may be impossible to protect yourself from all of these things, but the best way to avoid needing to make a claim is to keep your property in good shape all year round.
Regular maintenance and check-ins on things like the boiler, electrics and even the roof mean you’ll hopefully be able to catch any issues as early as possible.
Protecting yourself with landlord insurance
If you're renting out one or more properties, landlord insurance could be very useful.
Storms, electrical faults and even tenants can cause damage to your rental property, which can result in a large bill that you have to foot.
With landlord insurance, you can protect yourself against unexpected costs and get support with arranging repairs.
We have three types of landlord insurance for you to choose from based on your needs and budget: Admiral, Gold and Platinum.
Landlord emergency cover
Our landlord emergency cover add-on protects you if you have an emergency at your rental property. With this cover, you can access our 24/7 emergency helpline if you need support for an emergency, such as:
- a broken boiler
- a leaking toilet
- broken windows and doors
- burst water or gas pipes
This add-on covers you for temporary repairs at your rental property. Please get in touch with us to learn more.
