Frequently asked questions

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To help you to make the right choices for your landlords insurance, here is a selection of questions we are often asked by our customers.

 1. How much should I insure my property for?

This is a very difficult question to answer as each property is different.

We have made it easy for you to buy your buildings insurance from us as letprotect offers buildings cover up to £500,000 under that section of the policy. Don’t forget, £500,000 applies to the amount it would take to re-build your property, not its market value – the market value is irrelevant to most insurers as it varies so wildly from one part of the country to the other.

Contents insurance is more complicated as different landlords may furnish their rental property to different extents, if at all. Remember, we can only cover your contents, not your tenant's contents . The only thing to do to get an accurate value to insure is to go round the property room-by-room and add everything up – remember too, it’s the value as if you were buying everything as new that you need to bear in mind, not what it might be worth second hand.

 2. What does accidental damage cover mean?

Landlords insurance policies do not generally offer accidental damage cover as standard i.e. you have to pay an additional amount for accidental damage cover. That is because, in addition to the standard cover, which protects your property against damage by theft, flood, fire and subsidence, for example, accidental damage covers you for those everyday spillages and incidents that happen in and around the. So say, for example, you rent out a furnished property and your tenant knocks a cup of coffee over your nice pale sofa in the living room, unless you bought accidental damage cover, you would not be able to claim the cost of repair or replacement.

3.  What if my circumstances change during the time I’m insured with you?

Like all insurance premiums, your letprotect premium is based on the information you provide when you initially buy the policy, or at renewal. If, during the course of the year, your circumstances change e.g. your property becomes unoccupied, you must let us know as soon as possible on 0845 372 1192. This is because it can affect the way underwriters assess the risk, and that means that the premium, or the terms and conditions of the policy, might have to change. If you don’t tell us, the policy can be declared null and void just when you need it most – when you need to make a claim. To make sure you avoid that happening, giving us a quick telephone call to update us with current information is all you need to do. 

4. What do I have to pay if I make a claim?

The amount you have to pay if you make a claim is called the policy excess. There is a standard policy excess of £100, but to help reduce your premium you can choose to add to this by selecting a voluntary excess. The two levels of voluntary excess you can choose are £150 and £400 which means that the total amount you would pay if you made a claim would increase to £250 and £500 respectively.

There is also a separate excess for subsidence, landslip and heave claims which, as these claims tend to be more than £10,000-£15,000 and are very rare is usually set at £1,000.

5.What if I want to change the type or amount of cover after I have bought my policy?

If you would like to change any of the amounts you have insured, or would like to add or delete anything from your policy, you will need to call our Customer Services team on 0845 372 1192. They can handle all your questions over the telephone and you’ll usually be able to change the policy to your requirements immediately.

6. Can I insure my tenants possessions?

You can only insure items in which you have a personal financial interest, so you would be unable to insure your tenant's possessions, however we are able to provide your tenant with contents insurance to cover their personal possessions, just refer your tenant to our letprotect site or ask them to call 0845 222 1919 for them to get great value coverage.

7. The buildings insurance covers Loss of Rent, so why do I need the optional Rent Recovery?

Loss of Rent under the buildings section of your letprotect policy will cover the rent you would have received if  your property is so badly damaged by something covered under the buildings and/or contents sections that your tenant can't live in it ,  for example,  severe flooding , which can take months to dry out.  In addition to helping restore the property we would also cover the income you would have received for that 3 month period (subject to the policy terms and conditions),

Rent Recovery is an optional extra designed to provide you with cover in the event of a tenant defaulting on their rent, allowing you to rest assured that you are covered for almost any event.

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