Updating post from Reddit.
Hi everyone,
I am about to rent out my one bed flat due to moving abroad temporarily for work and am learning all about how this works for the first time. I am looking to get Landlord’s insurance but I’m a bit unsure what an appropriate amount to insure the flat for would be. The freeholder’s building insurance obviously covers the building but does not cover non-landlord’s fixtures and fittings. How much do people think would be a reasonable amount to insure their flat for under these circumstances (covering fixtures/fittings/general flat issues such as from water leaks and so on - not considering eg contents)?
Thanks!
EDIT: More information: My property is a small (~40 sq metre) one bed flat with a bathroom/kitchen/hallway/living space. I’m looking into the insurance value for essentially the bathroom and kitchen furniture/fixings (toilet/bath/sink, inbuilt cabinets and surfaces) and for damage from eg water or fire. My understanding is that the building insurance will cover eg structural damage but not to my fixings/fittings. Any value for insurance is allowed.
Without knowing the specifics of your property, we can't really advise you. Does the insurer want a specific amount or do they have set amounts, i.e. £50,000, £100,000 etc.?
Thanks, I’ve added more information below and will update the post. Let me know if there is anything useful I’ve still missed out. My property is a small (~40 sq metre) one bed flat with a bathroom/kitchen/hallway/living space. I’m looking into the insurance value for essentially the bathroom and kitchen furniture/fixings (toilet/bath/sink, inbuilt cabinets and surfaces) and for damage from eg water or fire. My understanding is that the building insurance will cover eg structural damage but not to my fixings/fittings. The insurance company allow you to specify a value to insure the building for, no set values.
You may need to speak to your prospective insurer and see if just the fixtures and fittings fall under buildings insurance or under the contents part of the landlord insurance. You may not need buildings insurance separately.
Thanks. I’m pretty sure that the buildings insurance the freeholder has does not cover the fixtures and fittings within the flat, unfortunately - this has come up in our resident’s association in the past. So I think I would need to insure this under contents. My insurance broker has confirmed that these would be covered under the proposed policy. Do you have a ball park figure or any recommendations on how to estimate an appropriate insurance value for these? I’ve not had much experience with this so am at a bit of a loss on - I don’t want to under or over insure.
I don't have a ball park figure. We can't answer that. But I would query why you have a broker. You can easily call various landlord insurance providers and work through the questions with them.
Imagine you tip out and replace kitchen and bathroom and replace how much does that cost ? Estimate £10k each. Now replace all your carpets and curtains. Etc etc
Also make sure your insurance covers damage from a tenant causing a leak or fire
I would also ask that malicious damage is covered. Tenants can wreck a place.