9:41 AM, 28th January 2025, About 2 days ago
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The winter months often bring bad weather, and storms can cause huge damage to a property, leading to expensive repairs.
According to the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), the average landlord insurance claim for storm damage is £3,636, but some claims are higher.
For example, in 2023, roof damage caused by torrential rain saw a £97,804 payout.
With winter in full swing and the aftermath of Storm Eowyn, which caused widespread property damage and disruption, it might be a good time to consider landlord insurance to help protect your property.
Here at Property118, we’ve partnered with The Home Insurer to provide a top-class service that ensures you get the right policy to protect your property – and it could even help save you money.
Most landlord insurance policies include buildings protection which will cover any storm-related damage.
According to one insurer, the most common storm hazards are flooding, roof tiles cracking or breaking, fences collapsing and trees falling.
It says that roof damage accounted for 66% of the storm insurance claims filed between January 2019 and January 2023.
However, flood insurance claims after storms can be hard to come by with more insurers, unwilling to cover rental properties.
Jason McClean, director of The Home Insurer, says rental properties are excluded from the flood re scheme which can cause huge complications.
The flood re scheme is a partnership between the government and insurers which provides guaranteed flood cover for owner-occupied properties.
Jason added that many insurers avoid offering flood insurance due to the high flood risk, and rental properties are left out of the scheme, making it harder to find coverage.
The Home Insurer has access to a few specialist flood underwriters who can give flood insurance to landlords.
Jason told Property118: “We try our best to give landlords access to flood insurance, but we can’t guarantee it all the time.
“However, given certain circumstances and talking to the client, we may be able to give them an offer with some flood cover included.
“These could include a high excess, or a limit and they may require flood doors to be in place. But we can speak to our underwriters and are able to influence what happens on the insurance itself, to a degree.”
He added: “If somebody is flooded twice in the last year and it’s a rental property and it’s an ongoing claim, they are unlikely to get flood insurance.
“Typically, you would have to go down the other route which is the Flood Flash route which is a more expensive way of doing it and offers a cash repayment, but The Home Insurer can offer that as well.”
The Home Insurer says it offers realistic solutions to clients when it comes to flood insurance.
Jason explains: “We have solutions on the board to deal with those problems but of course, we need to speak to the landlord and find out more about the property and we can tell you realistically what we can do to help you.”
Before a storm, it’s helpful to tell tenants about what steps to take in case of a flooding emergency, such as where the stopcock is to turn off the water.
If a property becomes unhabitable due to storm damage, most landlord insurance policies will cover alternative accommodation while repairs are carried out.
It’s important to remember that tenants’ belongings damaged during a storm will not be covered by landlord insurance.
Tenants are responsible for their own belongings and will need to take contents insurance of their own to protect their belongings.
Damage to a rental property during a storm can be expensive, and without landlord insurance to help, it could end up costing you a lot of money.
Having landlord insurance can offer you peace of mind knowing you are covered in case of storm damage.
The Home Insurer is happy to help landlords find cover for storm damage.
For more help and advice about landlord insurance, contact the team The Home Insurer:
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