COVERTRADE SERVICES
Residential Let Insurance
Comprehensive protection for your residential rental properties.
What Buy To Let Insurance Has To Cover
Buy to let insurance is buildings cover written for a property you own and let rather than live in. The distinction matters because a standard household policy is written on the basis you live there, and letting is a change of use that home insurers generally exclude.
A proper buy-to-let policy puts four things together: the structure, your liability as owner for injury the building causes, the contents you supplied ( carpets, curtains, white goods, kitchen units) and the rent you lose while the property cannot be lived in after an insured event.
Your lender will also have something to say about it, which is where most landlords first encounter the subject. The sections below cover what they require, what the rebuild figure should be, and the difference between loss of rent and rent guarantee, which catches people out more than anything else here.
How Much Is Buy To Let Insurance?
Across the property owner policies we place, premiums start at around £215 a year. A large house or a portfolio runs well beyond that.
The premium follows the building, not the rent. Rebuild cost, where the property is and how it is built, whether it is furnished, the type of tenant, how much loss of rent you want and your claims record are what move it. Two flats with identical rents can price very differently if one is a modern block and the other a converted period building with a flat roof.
These are premiums arranged for other landlords and are not a quote. Call 02382 000820 and we will go to the market for you.
What Your Mortgage Lender Requires
Buy-to-let mortgage conditions effectively always require buildings insurance, in place from completion, for at least the full reinstatement value. Lenders frequently also want to be noted on the policy as having an interest in it.
Two things are worth knowing. You are entitled to arrange the cover yourself rather than take the lender’s own product, and doing so is usually cheaper. And the sum insured has to meet what the mortgage offer specifies, a reinstatement figure, not the purchase price and not the valuation.
If you are buying, arrange cover to start on completion rather than afterwards. In England and Wales the risk passes to you on exchange, which is earlier than most buyers assume.
Before You Complete
What a buy-to-let purchase needs in place.
- Cover starting on completion
- Sum insured meeting the mortgage offer
- Lender noted on the policy if required
- Landlord’s contents, even if unfurnished
- Loss of rent, and whether you want rent guarantee
- Flexible payment options
- Dedicated account managers
- Out-of-hours contact should you need to make a claim or just have a question
- A quick and easy, pain-free service
- An excellent customer experience
Void Periods Between Tenancies
This is the gap landlords fall into most often, because nobody thinks of a month between tenants as the property being “unoccupied”. Insurers do. Most policies restrict cover once a property has stood empty beyond a set period, commonly 30 or 45 days, typically dropping to fire, lightning, explosion and aircraft only.
Theft, escape of water and malicious damage (the things an empty property actually attracts) are the ones that fall away. Conditions usually follow too: inspections at set intervals with a written record, water drained down in winter, post cleared, and the property properly secured. A refurbishment between tenancies counts as a void as well. Tell us when a property empties rather than at renewal.
Rebuild Cost, Not Market Value
The sum insured on the building is what it would cost to rebuild it, including demolition, site clearance and professional fees, not what it would sell for and not what you paid. On flats it is your share of rebuilding the whole block, which is why a leasehold flat worth £250,000 might carry a rebuild figure far below that, or a period building with a slate roof far above it.
Get it wrong and an average condition, which most policies of this kind carry, can cut the settlement proportionately: insure a £300,000 rebuild for £200,000 and a £60,000 claim is settled at £40,000. Building costs have moved sharply and index-linking alone rarely keeps pace, so a figure set a few years ago is very often short. Your surveyor's report usually gives a reinstatement figure; for a flat, the block's insurance valuation is the place to start rather than guessing from the purchase price.
Loss Of Rent Is Not Rent Guarantee
These are two different things and they are confused constantly, usually at the worst possible moment.
Loss of rent sits inside the buildings policy. It pays when the property cannot be lived in after an insured event (a fire, a flood, a serious escape of water) and it usually covers a percentage of the sum insured for a set indemnity period. It has nothing to say about a tenant who stops paying.
Rent guarantee is a separate product that covers exactly that: arrears from a tenant who will not pay, and often the legal costs of recovering possession. It comes with conditions: referencing the tenant properly before the tenancy starts, a signed agreement, and notifying arrears within a set number of days. Miss the referencing and it does not respond. Premiums can be paid monthly or annually.
What We Need To Quote
The address, age and construction of the property, its rebuild cost, whether it is a house or a flat and if a flat how many are in the block, whether it is let furnished or unfurnished, the type of tenant, the annual rent, your completion date if you are buying, and any claims in the last five years.
Protect Your Residential Properties
So why wait? Protect your residential rental properties today with CoverTrade's comprehensive insurance coverage. Contact us now to schedule a consultation with one of our expert advisors.
Cover that often goes with this
The gaps we most often find sitting next to this policy.
- Landlord insuranceThe wider property owner policy, for more than one property.
- HMO insuranceLetting by the room rather than on one tenancy changes how it is rated.
- Unoccupied property insuranceFor the gap between tenancies, once the property has stood empty long enough to void the cover.
- Airbnb host insuranceShort lets are a change of use, and a buy to let policy does not allow them.
Common questions
What is buy to let insurance?+
It is buildings insurance written for a property you own and let rather than live in, normally packaged with property owners' liability, loss of rent and cover for the contents you supplied. A standard household policy will not do the job (letting is a change of use that home insurers generally exclude) and holding proper cover is usually a condition of a buy-to-let mortgage.
How much is buy to let insurance?+
Across the property owner policies we place, premiums start at around £215 a year. A small flat can be under £150 and a large house or a portfolio runs well beyond it. The premium follows the building rather than the rent: rebuild cost, location and construction, the type of tenant, whether it is furnished, and your claims record.
Does my mortgage lender require buildings insurance?+
Effectively always. Buy-to-let mortgage conditions normally require buildings cover for at least the reinstatement value from the day you complete, and lenders often want to be noted on the policy as having an interest. Some will accept your choice of insurer, some offer their own. You are entitled to arrange it yourself, and doing so is usually cheaper, but check the sum insured meets what the lender specifies.
Do I need contents insurance if the property is unfurnished?+
Usually a modest amount, yes. Even an unfurnished let normally contains carpets, curtains, blinds, light fittings, white goods and kitchen units, all of which are yours rather than the tenant's. Landlord's contents cover is for those. It does not cover the tenant's belongings, which are their responsibility, and it is worth telling tenants that so they are not relying on a policy that was never theirs.
What is the difference between loss of rent and rent guarantee?+
Loss of rent sits inside the buildings policy and pays when the property cannot be lived in after an insured event: a fire, a flood, a serious escape of water. Rent guarantee is a separate product covering a tenant who simply stops paying, and it comes with conditions: proper referencing, a signed tenancy agreement, and notifying arrears promptly. Many landlords assume the first covers the second. It does not.
Am I covered if the property is empty between tenants?+
For a while, then cover changes. Most policies restrict once a property has been unoccupied beyond 30 or 45 days, commonly reducing to fire, lightning, explosion and aircraft and excluding theft, escape of water and malicious damage. Conditions follow: documented inspections, water drained down in winter, post cleared. Tell your insurer when a property empties. A refurbishment counts too.
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Related reading
Guides from our team on the cover discussed on this page.
