28 January 2021

Do insurers favour professional let tenants for landlord insurance?

By Will Riley Senior Account Handler
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There are several different classes of tenants within the landlord insurance sector, including professional lets, students, HMOs and those in receipt of DSS benefits.

Many of our clients rent properties to a variety of these tenant types, but insurers can take different approaches as to how, and even whether, they cover them at all.

It is true that properties with professional tenants tend to be the type that insurers favour. This can often mean they offer more competitive premiums than insurance for other tenancy types.  However, it is more complex if the property has professional tenants yet is let as an HMO which comes with a different set of risks.

Student tenants also tend to be accepted by most landlord insurance providers, again unless it is within an HMO which needs additional consideration.

However, issues usually crop up if you have DSS tenants. There is still a wider public perception that these tenants prove more troublesome. There are a number of possible reasons why these perceptions persist:

  1. Will the tenant always pay and on time?
  2. If it is not their money paying for the rent, will the tenant be as good at taking care of the property?
  3. Will dealing with the local authority be problematic?

In addition, some insurers may have also had previous poor claims performance with this tenant type which will impact their desire to insure this sector. Some will cover them but may apply restrictions to cover or higher excesses, and others may not cover them at all.

These issues are magnified if you are looking at more specialised tenancies, for example asylum seekers, tenants with specialist needs, or those on probation.

At the end of the day, it can come down to each insurer’s attitude to the various risk options, which is why it’s a good idea to work with a broker who has access to more than one insurer.  By doing this you will not only have more options available, but you’ll also get advice on which is the best insurance for your situation. The good news is that at Protect My Let, we work with a number of different landlord insurance providers, from those that just deal with professional let tenants, to those that can look at all tenant types. Whichever tenant type you choose, we will have a solution to offer you.

You can get in touch with us by clicking here or using the details below. We’re always happy to help.

01206 655 899

enquiries@protectmylet.com

To find out more about different tenant insurance please click the links below:

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You can find further useful information and get in touch with a member of our team or submit an enquiry on the landlord insurance page.

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