Content Insurance For Landlords - How to Get the Best Deal

Content insurance for landlords is a key part of renting out a property. If you are or are planning to become a landlord there are certain things that you must have in place and content insurance is one of these things.

I know of a couple of fellow landlords that have not had adequate policies in place and have end up losing thousands of dollars as a result of uninsured losses,in both cases sustained through food damage.

It is all too easy to assume that because you have building insurance in place, and all of the contents belong to the tenant (if you are renting the property unfurnished) that you do not need content cover. This can be an expensive mistake, as two of my friends have found out to their own cost. Your buildings policy may not cover internal belongings to you such as carpets, wooden floor coverings, refrigerator, cooker, washing machines, curtains, window blinds. This quick list demonstrates actually how many potentially expensive items you may have inside your rented property that will require insuring.

Getting the best deal is an essential part of ensuring you get the best possible financial return from your rented house. The first rule s not to accept the first quote you get. Aim to spend a good amount of time researching the market to get the best possible deal. Do not just look at the annual premiums, be sure to look at exactly what is covered and how much any excess is on each policy.

PROFESSIONAL RISK & LIABILITY INSURANCE

Professional Indemnity Insurance

Protects professionals for breach of their professional duties arising fromt he conduct of their practice or busienss. Included in this area are:

• Majority of Sectors
• Health Sector
• Information & Communications Sector
• Property & Construction Sector
• Legal Sector
• Publishing & Broadcasting Sector
• Finance Sector

Directors & Officers Management Liability Insurance

Provides protections for individuals against Director & Officer legal liabiilty which they may incur while carrying out their duties as a company Director or Office. This include:

• Company Roles
• Trust Roles
• Association Roles

Financial Risk Insurance

This protect you from commercial crime.

Business Liability Insurance

• Broadform Liability
• Public Liability
• Products Liability
• Umbrella Liability

Domestic Liability Insurance

• High Net Worth Individuals
• Golfing Activities

Consider Protecting Your Borrowings With Loan Cover

Loan cover can be a great way of preparing against the unexpected occurring while you have debts hanging over your head that you are having to repay monthly. A policy allows you to continue repaying your lender as normal if you have an accident or illness which would keep you from attending work and earning a living. If you should become a victim of unemployment such as through redundancy then it would also give you an income which would be tax-free.

This money could make a huge difference when you have loan or credit repayments to make. There are many consequences to getting behind on your repayments and your credit rating will almost certainly be affected. However you could also gain a County Court Judgement against you and some lenders will take you to court to get back what you owe through your repossessions in some circumstances. Loan cover can put a stop to all of this which of course means you are free to concentrate on making a speedy recovery. It would also allow you to look around for work again without financial worry regarding your repayments.

When considering protecting your borrowings in this way the best way to ensure you get the cheapest quote is by looking online for a specialist in payment protection. Such as specialist offers far cheaper quotes than you will be given by lenders on the high street. If you are offered insurance when taking out the policy with your lender, you could be paying well over the odds for your protection policy.

High street lenders make huge profits each year by selling protection insurance, they also make up for the fact they are offering cheap loans. Protection that is taken this way be will be added onto the cost of borrowing and then the interest is calculated on the total amount. In effect you will not only be paying interest on the loan but also your protection for it.

Along with looking for the lowest premiums you also need to compare policies for the beginning and end dates. These differ between providers just as the cost and the exclusions do. You can find that one policy would begin providing you with an income after the 30th day of unemployment or of being unable to work. On the other hand the provider might offer cover that would only benefit you after you are unable to work or have been unemployed for at least 90 days. You also have to check the terms and conditions to see if the provider backdates the cover to the first date of you becoming unemployed or of being incapacitated. As for the exclusions they are to be found in all policies. However, some providers will add in many and others only the most general ones.

Loan cover has in the past been called nothing but a "rip-off"and in some cases when taken out with the loan it can be expensive. However if you choose to buy your cover independently from an ethical provider you can be assured that you will have cover you can rely on.

Loan Insurance Provides Your Repayments If You Lose Your Income

Loan insurance can provide you with the repayments of your loan or credit card borrowing if you should find yourself unable to work after becoming ill. Illness happens at anytime and sometimes it is necessary to take many weeks away from work or in some cases months. If you were to have an accident then it could also take weeks of recovery before you could go back to work. In the case of losing your job altogether you could have to attend lots of interviews before finally finding a position suited to you.

In all cases continuing paying your lender is imperative if you did not want to get into debt. If you got behind on your repayments you would at the very least suffer a bad credit rating, the worst situation could mean that you would be taken to court. If you are considering using savings as a means of income to protect your repayments, they could last a while but if you had to dip into them for months on end, they might run out. State help is also considered as a means of repaying your loan. You should not automatically assume that you would be entitled to receive benefits from the State. You need to be eligible to claim and this means you have to be eligible to claim income support.

Loan insurance will come with some terms and conditions as do all insurance type products. However the provider will give you the information needed for you to be able to determine if cover is suitable for your needs, there and then. Once you were protected by a policy it would provide you with the much needed income if you should become unemployed or incapacitated for a certain period of time.

The waiting period before cover pays if you are incapacitated or unemployed would depend on the provider. The majority of them would state that you cannot claim on the cover until between the days thirty and ninety. This means you must be out of work for the stated time consecutively then claim on that day. Some providers will backdate the benefit to the first date of your becoming unemployed or incapacitated and you should consider this when looking around for the policy. A policy will pay out for a certain period of time before expiring; depending on the provider you are able to take out a twelve month or twenty four month policy.

With loan insurance behind you to back you up you would not have to worry about juggling your loan or credit card repayments each month. You would have the luxury each month if needed of the tax-free income you insured against when taking out the cover. You are then able to concentrate of getting well and back to work; if you had become unemployed you would not be distracted and could just concentrate on finding work. Of course you should read the terms and conditions of the policy before taking it on if you were to have peace of mind.