What insurance do I need to arrange?

[mommydragonn]

I have bought a flat in a new development and am about to rent it out for sometime. I am not sure what sort of insurance I need to arrange. The owner of building has their insurance covering perils like Fire. Their insurance covers the building. The built in appliances will be under 1 year warranty. I haven't given much furniture and don't really want to take insurance out for those. The estate agents will manage the property. So I will give them all details of appliances warranties. But do I need to take out any insurance to cover the remit of the flat itself or public liability or incase there was ever a claim from the tenants? Really not sure.

Talk to the owner of the building. Understand FULLY what their insurance covers, and ask to have a copy of the cover if it sounds likely to cover what you will need, and understand what you would need to do if you had to claim on it. (e.g the flat upstairs leaves their bathroom tap on and the result is your flat is severely water damaged, roof blows off etc.). Also understand where you would be if they did not bother renewing, and you did not know. Although there is no point double covering, there is also no point in being left high and dry by someone else. There are a few grey areas here that arise when you are renting which are always worth thinking about. (e.g tenant loses keys, smashes window to get in) If you have nothing, or next to nothing in the property, contents insurance is normally the responsibility of the tenant, make this clear to them up front). We've had a couple of interesting times with our tenants, partial bit of ceiling fell in in lounge, dust on their sofa. Right on it immediately, but insisted on being rehoused while it was done, and got absolute backlash from claims and ended up paying . IRO of white goods, we do not insure, we just replace, most don't fail for 10 years , some do, and then it is straight onto the currys website with discussion with tenants to replace (who are normally happy). It's not always an easy path being a good landlord. x

We've rented out our flat for several years and have found that some sort of boiler and heating cover which includes the various landlord certificates is worth while. I started with one of the big companies but then moved elsewhere when it went up after the first year. I also think appliances cover is worthwhile for landlords - just because it is less hassle to arrange someone to sort it all out if something goes wrong - manufacturers tend to take ages and non stop chasing to fix it. Appliances cover like the one we have with Zest Plan is really cheap and covers more than just manufacturer issues - they will often just replace it with a brand new one. We have our TV's, microwave, etc all covered for about £2 each a month.