Landlord insurance
UK insurance cover built around the needs of landlords
What Pikl covers
Our landlord insurance cover through Prestige allows you to build a policy around the kind of property you let.
Buildings & contents
Cover for buildings and landlord contents, including fire, storm, flood, subsidence, heave, landslip and escape of water damage.
Legal expenses
Cover to pursue or defend a legal claim, including tenant disputes and evictions.
Liability cover
Protection against liability claims, including public, personal, owner, and employers' liability.
Landlord rental income
Cover for loss of rent owed to you as a landlord. Up to 20% of the buildings sum insured per claim.
Home emergencies
Protect your home against sudden issues that require urgent callouts.
Cover for short-term lets
Our optional add-on can cover you for damages and up to £5 million liability when renting out your home to paying guests in between tenancies.
Why choose landlord insurance with Pikl?
Insurance for landlords
From buildings protection to liability, our landlord cover that allows you to rent with confidence.
Backed by a well-known brand
Policies covering long-term tenants are backed by Prestige Coverall.
Cover for non-standard properties
We can consider quoting a wide range of different construction types and tenants.
Consistent support
Our highly-rated UK support centre has hundreds of 5-star customer reviews and is available to support you.
Quick, responsive, clear, good value.
Really friendly and helpful organisation.
Excellent service as ever from Pikl Insurance.
What landlord insurance do I need?
Providers such as Pikl can offer specialist landlord cover to make sure you have cover for your property. Below are some key cover features:
Landlord buildings insurance
This covers the physical structure of the property, including the entire premises such as outbuildings and garages. Examples of areas typically covered include:
- Walls, roofs, lofts and ceilings
- Fitted items such as kitchen counters, cooking hobs and baths
- Pipes and drainage systems
Buildings insurance also covers the cost of rebuilding the property and clearing the site following serious damage, such as a fire. Make sure your rebuild cost is accurate so you have enough cover in place. You can use a rebuild cost calculator or speak to a surveyor if you are unsure.
Contents insurance for landlords
Like home contents insurance, landlord contents insurance covers the items you provide inside the property. Typical items covered include:
- Wardrobes, beds and desks
- Sofas, chairs and tables
- Fridges, freezers and washing machines
- Appliances such as toasters and kettles
- Carpets and rugs
It only covers belongings owned by you, so tenants will need their own insurance for their possessions. Contents cover is most relevant for furnished properties, particularly where items would be costly to repair or replace.
Make sure your sum insured reflects the value of everything you provide, including easily overlooked items such as carpets and curtains. Taking an inventory can help you calculate this accurately and avoid being underinsured. High-value items may also need to be listed separately with your insurer.
Landlord liability cover
It is your legal duty as a landlord to make sure that your property is safe. Issues can go wrong even for the most careful of landlords, however. If a tenant is injured or damage occurs to neighbouring property, you could be held liable. Here are some examples:
- A neglected boiler starts a fire that causes significant burns to a tenant.
- Tenants fall from a balcony that collapses, resulting in them being hospitalised with serious injuries.
- A tenant trips over wiring that had not been concealed, causing them to fall over and hurt themselves.
Having liability cover can give you peace of mind that you have some form of safety net if something did go wrong. Below are the different types of liability cover:
- Personal liability: This covers you for when you are found liable for an issue that you personally caused, such as wiping the floor with a wet mop without putting down signage and causing someone to slip and hurt themselves.
- Property owner liability: In situations where you as the owner are responsible, such as a loose brick falling and hitting someone, property owner liability can protect you.
- Public liability: Any issue involving liability claims with members of the public.
Dealing with these issues directly could result in having to pay out significant sums and potential legal action. This makes liability insurance an important consideration for many landlords.
Loss of tenant rent
If the property becomes uninhabitable following a claim that is covered under the buildings section of the policy and you are unable to recover rent, loss of rent is available through Prestige up to 20% of the buildings sum insured. In place of this, alternative accommodation may be provided instead.
Optional cover for short-term lets
Cover for paying guests can differ from standard landlord insurance, as short-term lets are often treated as a different risk. Some landlord policies may limit how often you can host guests, restrict guest-related cover or, in some cases, not cover short-term letting at all.
If you rent to paying guests, key areas to check include:
- Theft and malicious damage: Make sure damage or theft by guests is covered, not just incidents involving forced entry.
- Liability cover: This can protect you if a guest is injured or third-party property is damaged. In Scotland, short-term let licensing also requires a minimum level of liability cover.
- Accidental damage: Check that accidental damage caused by guests is included.
- Legal expenses: This can help with costs relating to issues such as guest eviction or HMRC investigations.
- Loss of short-term rental income: Lost income cover for confirmed bookings when the property is empty more than 14 consecutive days due at an insured event.
Always check your existing landlord policy before hosting, as restrictions on guest stays and cover can vary between insurers.
Do I need landlord insurance?
For properties with long term tenants only, landlord insurance is not a direct legal requirement. Where it relates to a legal duties, a landlord is however legally required to keep certain areas of the property maintained to a safe standard. If issues are not fixed, the tenant can:
- Take landlords to the small claims court for repairs under £5,000.
- Carry out repairs themselves and deducted these expenses from the rent in some circumstances.
If you have no means to carry out certain repairs yourself, then some form of landlord insurance cover may be needed to avoid issues like the above occurring. In addition, landlord insurance can: - Cover large repairs and expenses: Issues such as rebuilding the entire property or dealing with significant repair damages are usually difficult for most people to cover out of their own pocket.
- Keep the property habitable: Having insurance means that issues can be easier to solve. Your tenants may be happier if you can resolve issues smoothly.
- Meet contractual requirements: Mortgage providers typically require buildings insurance in place as a condition for obtaining any loan.
Landlords in Scotland that also have paying guests are required to have buildings and liability insurance in place as a condition for obtaining a short let licence.
What properties does landlord insurance cover?
Landlord insurance through Pikl can consider cover for a wide range of homes, including:
- Detached, semi-detached, and terraced properties.
- Flats, bungalows and houses.
- A range of different building construction types, although certain materials such as brick and tile are usually easier to cover.
Examples of unique construction types we may consider include:
- Listed buildings: These may require more specialist insurance as they have stricter requirements where it relates to repairs.
- Non-standard materials: Less common materials such as thatched roofs may be considered a higher risk, or be more costly to repair.
- Flat roofs: Flat roofs may be considered riskier than pitched roofs as they lack a natural slope to drain rainwater.
Landlord insurance FAQs
Landlord insurance covers properties lived in by tenants that typically reside there for at least 6 months on an assured shorthold tenancy. Like regular household insurance, it can cover damage to the building or items inside of it. Despite the similarities, there are also some differences:
Premiums: As you won’t be the person living at the property when it is rented, insurers may price this differently to a regular household policy.
Cover: There will also be cover differences. Contents insurance will be different, for example, as it will cover the landlord’s items and not the tenants.
Risk: Insurers will view tenanted properties differently to ones lived in by owners. As such, you will need a policy specifically tailored to you as a landlord instead of regular household cover.
Like most property insurance policies, landlord insurance does not typically come at a fixed cost when getting a quote through Pikl’s insurance panel. Instead, your landlord insurance premium may depend on a number of variables, such as:
Local rating factors: Issues such as your home’s proximity to flood risks, crime in the local area and access to emergency services could all play a role in determining how much you pay. These can also change year on year depending on the data the insurer has. Other localised factors such as the cost of hiring contractors in your area can also have an impact.
National issues: Issues potentially facing everyone, from the rate of inflation to how many claims are being made, may also impact the premium you pay.
Building type: When looking at the home, your insurer will assess the building materials as well as property security. Anything that is different from what is typically covered may incur a higher premium if this increases the risk or the cost of repairing in the event of a claim.
Property use: How the property is used may have an impact, such as whether you also rent out to guests and the type of tenant staying at the home.
Claims history: Your claims history could have a fairly large impact in addition to any no claims discount you may have.
Sum insured: The property rebuild cost and the value of contents you set may also have a significant impact, as larger amounts will typically result in higher premiums.
Cover options: Adding additional cover will inevitably increase your premium, as can lowering the excess in some cases.
In summary, there are a number of variable factors that can impact the cost of landlord insurance. Make sure that you choose cover that meets your needs before trying to reduce your premium.
Unlike regular home insurance, there are several common scenarios where a landlord property may be left unoccupied for a period of time, such as not being able to find a new tenant or leaving the property empty whilst conducting repair work. Depending on the insurer, you can typically leave your home empty for a maximum of 60 days. Some insurers may offer less than this, however. When an extended period of the property being unoccupied is likely, it’s important to let your insurer know as soon as possible. Some insurers may place restrictions or stipulations on your policy when this happens, so speak to your provider if you are not sure.
It is your legal duty as a landlord to make sure that your property is safe. Issues can go wrong even for the most careful of landlords, however. If a tenant is injured or damage occurs to neighbouring property, you could be held liable. Here are some examples:
- A neglected boiler starts a fire that causes significant burns to a tenant.
- Tenants fall from a balcony that collapses, resulting in them being hospitalised with serious injuries.
- A tenant trips over wiring that had not been concealed, causing them to fall over and hurt themselves.
Having liability cover can give you peace of mind that you have some form of safety net if something did go wrong. Below are the different types of liability cover:
- Personal liability: This covers you for when you are found liable for an issue that you personally caused, such as wiping the floor with a wet mop without putting down signage and causing someone to slip and hurt themselves.
- Property owner liability: In situations where you as the owner are responsible, such as a part of the building collapsing and hitting someone, property owner liability can protect you.
- Public liability: Any issue involving liability claims with members of the public.
Dealing with these issues directly could result in having to pay out significant sums and potential legal action. This makes liability insurance an important consideration for many landlords.
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