Does tenant’s pet damage insurance exist?

I suggest you read my article here.
The Bill allows landlords to insure and recoup the cost from the tenant. If you do allow pets you should take out the insurance.
From a landlord’s perspective it is not at all satisfactory for the tenant to insure for various reasons:
The landlord has no control over the insurance policy;
Diligent landlords with several properties will have to scrutinise different policies to see if they are suitable or contain unacceptable exclusions;
The policy may be invalidated if the tenant:
does not disclose material matters at inception and on renewal;
makes false statements to insurers;
breaches the terms of the policy;
fails to pay renewal premiums – perhaps to save money; or
cancels the policy without telling the landlord.

Even if a claim is successful, insurers will pay the tenant, not the landlord and a claim may be settled many months after the tenant has left. Landlords will worry that insurance proceeds never reach them.
Where a tenant fails to notify insurers promptly, claims may be refused. Some policies require notification within 30 days of damage occurring. Well-organised tenants – the sort who are responsible owners – may be timely. Others may not remember or not claim – perhaps fearing an increase in premiums – until after the tenancy ends. If insurers deny liability, the landlord may be left to claim against an impecunious tenant.

Numerous companies/brokers offer the insurance. Just Google: pet damage insurance.

Reply to the comment left by Ian Narbeth at 22/01/2024 - 10:08Tried this but can't see any insurances that are stand-alone - they are all extensions to existing policies. Do you know of any stand-alone policies? Preferably ones that don't exclude things like dogs chewing bannister rails, damage to carpets by animals peeing on them etc.

Reply to the comment left by John Gregson at 22/01/2024 - 10:45Dear John
I am not aware of stand alone policies but as a landlord you should have buildings insurance and can tack pet damage insurance on to the policy.
As my article explains, whoever takes out insurance, it will not cover wear and tear. Paintwork on woodwork scratched by a dog will not be covered nor will extra scuffs or greasy smears on wallpaper or painted walls. Carpets, furniture and curtains will need to be replaced more frequently. Matters will be judged on the basis that the letting was to a tenant with a pet or pets so more wear and tear must be accepted.
See for example this site

".... if your dog relieves itself on someone else’s sofa this accidental damage is unlikely to be covered by insurers."

Reply to the comment left by Ian Narbeth at 22/01/2024 - 09:48
Thank you for your comments Ian. I do agree with the points in the article you left a link for. I have just taken on a tenant that has a dog and did agree to get some insurance to cover pet damage, but all the policies that they (and I) found were an option on a tenants contents cover. A couple of these policies were very vague as to what constituted pet damage and and seemed to imply that landlords should have their own cover. It looks like I will just have to bite the bullet and extend the landlords insurance and build something into the monthly rent.

The Government wants landlords to take tenants with pets, but it just ends up being an extra cost for landlords, yet again!

Had a tenant some years back who installed two labradors a short while after moving in. Carpets were brand new. Tenants left after two years and despite lots of cleaning I could never remove the dog smell. (I have allergies to dogs and could hardly breather when I went in there). Had to replace all the carpets again. Would a pet insurance policy cover this ? I very much doubt it.

Reply to the comment left by Mike at 22/01/2024 - 11:08Mike
When the Renters Reform Bill becomes law, landlords will be able to recover the additional cost of the insurance, Landlords cannot at present insist on pet damage insurance or require the tenant to pay a separate charge to cover the premium.

I think the writer is right I, don’t think specific pet damage insurance exists in the form most landlords would want it. As far as I can see with normal household policies pet damage is confined to things like your cat knocking the TV over and breaking it, but things like damage due to gnawing, scratching and fouling are specifically excluded. These are the things a landlord wants to be insured against. The tenants 65 inch television is no concern of the landlord.
There are too many risk factors for insurers to just provide blanket cover. If any cover were available at all it would have to be tailored to cover individual circumstances. Insurers would need to know type and number of pets, are they left alone, does the tenant have a garden etc. etc .and possibly carry out a site inspection. If available at all, it would not be cheap.

Reply to the comment left by northern landlord at 22/01/2024 - 12:16Pet damage insurance won't cover "wear and tear". Furthermore, under a standard AST, fair wear and tear must be accepted by the landlord. The deposit protection adjudicators bend over backwards to find in favour of tenants and may demand evidence such as photos or video of the property at the start of the tenancy. Even then, if they disagree with the landlord about what constitutes fair wear and tear, the deposit may be released back to the tenant as soon as the decision is made.
The logical thing for landlords to do is increase rents and pay for more repairs.

A good option for landlords is to rent out a flat where the lease prohibits pets then you’re covered to say no.