By Felicity Hannah, deputy editor at moneysupermarket.com
If you’re a tenant, do you still need home insurance or will your landlords’ cover protect your belongings? We take a look… Renting can be a trouble-free way of putting a roof over your head. No maintenance costs to meet and no housing market worries. In fact, with many rooms let on a bills-included basis, some tenants don’t even have to worry about paying anything except their rent. This can make it all too easy to forget about Home Insurance cover or to assume that the landlord’s policy will protect your possessions if disaster strikes. But in actual fact, the vast majority of tenants will need to buy their own insurance policies. So what do you need to know?
Home insurance cover for tenants
When people refer to ‘home insurance’, they are lumping together two different kinds of protection – contents and buildings cover. Roughly speaking, if you picture your house or flat being turned upside down and shaken, then everything that falls out would be covered by contents insurance and everything that’s attached would be protected by building insurance. Anyone with a mortgage needs to have buildings insurance as part of their agreement, so your landlord’s policy would pay out if a tree toppled into the roof, for example, or if flood waters destroyed the wiring. However, without contents insurance, your personal possessions aren’t protected from fires, floods, thieves, accidents and other disasters.
Do I need contents insurance?
Unlike buildings insurance, there’s no requirement for anyone to take out contents cover – but it’s essential for peace of mind. Although some cover exists that is specifically designed for tenants, for most people, a standard contents insurance policy will be perfectly suitable. Make sure you shop around for the best price but remember that different policies vary and the cheapest isn’t always the best. Be confident you can afford the excess and consider paying a bit extra for new-for-old replacement cover. That means the policy would pay to replace items with equivalent new versions at today’s prices. You can add out-of-home cover, meaning your belongings are insured when you carry them out of the house – that’s especially good for technology and jewellery. Don’t skimp on the cover you need, you don’t want to be left out of pocket in the event you have to claim. You’ll have enough on your mind if that happens without worrying about whether your policy will pay out enough.
How much cover should I have?
When you apply for a policy, you’ll be asked to estimate the value of your stuff. Be as thorough as you can about this, don’t leave yourself underinsured. Go from room to room and assess the worth of what’s in each. Underinsuring yourself can cause serious issues if you need to claim. If your home’s contents are worth £20,000 collectively but you only insure them for £10,000 then your insurer may only agree to pay for half your claim – even if that’s for less than £10,000.
Will my contents insurance protect my landlord’s furniture?
Most contents insurance policies will only protect the possessions of the policyholder and their family. However, you may want your accidental damage cover to protect any furniture that belongs to your landlord, so you can avoid losing your deposit. Check with your home insurance provider if it can provide this additional cover. Some tenant-specific policies may well be able to do so.
What if I live with my landlord?
A large number of tenants actually live with their landlord, renting a room in their home rather than a whole property. If you’re in that position then you may find it hard to insure just your own possessions, especially if you don’t have a lock on your door. Ask your landlord to check with their home insurer if the policy can be extended to cover you as well. If not, look at a specialist policy for tenants.
interesting issues raised in this blog. many people don’t fully understand their policies and what they are – and aren’t – covered for! ensure you know the facts before its too late! Buy your insurance that is trustworthy and has a friendly service.