How can I get the best insurance deal?
When it comes to insurance, you need to have it to secure your mortgage and to protect your investment, but how can you make sure you’re getting the best deal?
As a landlord, you’ll already know that you need to get Buildings Insurance before you can secure your Buy-to-Let mortgage. Mortgage providers insist on this in order to protect their investments – so as a landlord, you’d be wise to take a leaf out of their book and look at making sure your investment is fully covered.
What insurance should a landlord have?
As stated above, you should have Buildings Insurance – partly because you simply can’t get that mortgage without it! But also because it covers your investment in the face of the very worst happening.
That’s not the only insurance you need though…
It’s also wise to invest in Home Emergency Insurance, which will cover you in the event of – well, any emergencies in the property! Mashroom will cover you for roof damage, pest infestation and broken keys (amongst other things!). It will also cover accommodation for your tenant, should they need to move out while the issue is resolved.
Rent Guarantee Insurance covers you in the event that your tenant doesn’t pay. Should your tenant miss a payment, or not pay in full, Mashroom will cover that for you, so you don’t have to worry about how you’ll pay the mortgage. We cover up to £2,500 a month and also cover the cost of pursuing rent arrears and up to £25,000 in legal costs, should it come to that.
Finally, you should also consider Life Insurance and Critical Illness Cover. This is the gloomiest of the lot, but when you put money into large scale investments like property, you really need to make sure that those outgoings are covered in the event of your death or severe illness. While it may not be something that you want to consider, we really recommend you do get life insurance and write a will – you won’t regret it!
4 ways to get the right deal on your insurance
Now that you know the insurance you should get to cover all eventualities, how can you make sure you’re getting the best deal? Insurance will be a large outgoing each month, so you want to make sure you’ve got the right deal.
- Don’t leave it till the last minute! We all have busy lives and that can mean that we let things like insurance tick over, rather than find the time to look for a better deal. But you could really be missing out if you do that! Make sure there is a reminder in your calendar for when it’s due to renew and put a reminder in about 4-6 weeks before this (a digital calendar is ideal for this). This way, you’ll be able to find the time to start looking around
- Make your insurers aware. If there are any changes to the material facts of your property, like getting an extension or any change to the fabric of the property, or the tenant type (from a professional to DSS, for example), you need to make sure that your insurers are aware. The last thing you want is to find out that your insurance won’t pay out when you need it to because you left out some key details
- Understand what you need to be covered for. Insurance paperwork can be daunting, but it’s key that you know both what you need to be covered for, so that you get the right fit for you and your investment, and what you are covered for. Familiarise yourself with your policy, so you know exactly what you can and can’t claim for. If there’s anything that isn’t covered that you are worried about, make sure to add that when you renew!
- Use a whole of market broker. Make your life easier by having someone else do the shopping around for you. Book a call with Matthew Crawley who is our Buildings Insurance specialist. With 15 years in the business, he really knows his stuff and he’s a dream to work with!
If you’ve got more questions about insurance, including making sure that you’re covered and getting the right deal, we’ve got just the webinar for you this Friday 23rd September. Join us for free – sign up here.
