When moving into a rental property, it can be all too tempting to think that the responsibility for insurance lies with your landlord – after all, you take out insurance policies for buildings and contents together, don’t you? If you own your own home, then yes it makes sense to have a policy that covers both. As a tenant however, your landlord is only responsible for insuring what they own. The responsibility for insuring your belongings lies with you as the tenant. In this article, we take a look at the importance of having insurance for those renting and what it should cover.
What is Tenants Insurance?
Simply put, Tenants Insurance is a contents insurance for anyone renting accommodation who would like to protect their personal belongings. A good policy should protect against such events that cause personal property to become damaged or removed, such as floods, fire or theft. Research carried out by Nationwide earlier this year found that of over 1,000 tenants who took part, only 52% had any kind of contents insurance to protect their belongings, all of which poses a question – could you afford to replace everything you own in the event of a fire or flood in your rented accommodation? 19% of the tenants who took part in the research believed that it was their landlord’s responsibility to arrange contents insurance, which could be a costly misconception indeed. As outlined previously, it is the responsibility of the landlord to insure the property itself and any contents that they own, such as carpets, any built-in wardrobes, bathroom and kitchen etc. This can also include white goods that are included in the rented property such as washing machines.
What Does A Tenants Insurance Policy Cover?
Each policy will vary according to what is offered by the individual insurer, but a good policy should cover damage to personal possessions from such events as:
- Burst pipes
- Leaks
- Fire
- Flood
- Storms
- Theft
- Earthquakes
- Vandalism
- Subsidence
- Riots
- Theft (there must be signs that entry has been forced).
Depending on the insurer, you may find that some policies cover replacing spoilt food if there is a power cut to the property and the fridge or freezer stops working. It might also cover the same eventuality in the event of a fridge or freezer breakdown.
What Might Not Be Covered?
Your policy documents will outline for you what isn’t covered under tenant’s insurance so it’s very important that you read through everything before taking out a policy. Typically, exclusions might include:
- Any damage caused if the property has been left unoccupied for more than 30 days
- Any damage caused by usual wear and tear
- Any theft of items or damage not caused by forced entry to the property, such as leaving doors unlocked or leaving windows propped open, allowing entry. Similarly, if you allow a person to enter and they steal or damage your personal possessions, this is unlikely to be covered.
- Any items taken from outside the property such as jewellery, mobile, tablets etc. (This can normally be added as an extra cover – usually called Personal Belongings Away From Home)
- Your policy will likely have a single item limit for theft or damage – that is the maximum that any single item will be covered for.
- Any theft or damage to any items used as part of a home business (usually covered under your business insurance policy)
What if I Accidentally Break Any of the Landlord’s Property?
This would be covered if your policy includes tenant’s liability insurance. This would then cover any repair or replacement costs of any items that have become broken accidentally such as any furniture left for the use by tenants or white goods etc.
Final Reminders
- You are responsible for insuring your possessions as a tenant.
- Although it is not a legal requirement to have contents insurance as a tenant, it certainly makes very good sense, unless you can afford to potentially replace everything you own.
- Give your items in each room a replacement value in today’s market, not what you originally paid.
- Don’t overvalue or undervalue anything – you might end up with not enough to replace an item or paying too much for your premium.
Renting really is no different to owning a property in terms of the need to insure your possessions and it is highly recommended to take out a tenant’s insurance policy along with tenant’s liability insurance. The peace of mind will be worth it should the worst event happen.
