Risk is an area often overlooked by landlords, but failing to protect the main assets of your business, which often have borrowings secured against them could lead to ruin.

Landlords often fail to understand the types of insurance risks that they are exposed to and are unaware that insurance coverage for buy-to-let investments is very different to the standard household insurance policies that cover owner-occupied dwellings.

Therefore, landlords are advised to seek the services of specialist insurance companies catering for the buy-to-let market.

Essentially there are five broad categories of landlords insurance:

– Landlords buildings insurance

– Landlords contents insurance

– Emergency assistance

– Legal expenses insurance

– Rent guarantee insurance

Landlords buildings insurance

These are the core policies and will generally provide coverage for a number of perils including fire, flooding, burst pipes, malicious damage and owner’s liability.

It is worth checking the policies of each insurer as the perils covered may vary. Other issues to be aware of are the amount of money the insurance company will pay out in the event of damage occurring, types of tenants (student tenants are perceived to be higher risk) and consent to let from your mortgage lender, as failure to gain consent will render your insurance void in the event of a claim.

Landlords contents insurance

Many landlords insurance specialists will offer the option of limited or full contents insurance.

Limited contents policies are designed for properties that are let unfurnished or part furnished. A typical policy would provide cover of up to £5,000 for items such as curtains, carpets, white goods and light fixtures. Most policies will also provide employers and landlords liability cover in relation to these products.

Liability cover is important, as the number of personal injury claims relating to contents has risen at an astonishing rate since the 1990s, with awards in excess of £100,000 not uncommon.

Full contents policies are for fully furnished properties or for limited contents that would cost more than £5,000 to replace. When applying for full contents insurance, ensure you value the contents for the cost to replace them, opposed to the actual value that you think they are worth.

Emergency assistance

Cover is provided for general property emergencies, such as failing electricity supplies and cooking facilities, plumbing problems, leaking roofs and guttering, and damage to doors and windows.

Typical policies will provide parts and labour up to a specified cost, along with a 24-hour call out helpline number.

This sort of insurance is most suited to landlords who do not live near their property and have not contracted their managing agent to provide such a service.

It should also be noted that these policies only cover emergency call-outs and are not a general repair service required through lack of routine maintenance.

Legal expenses insurance

Problems can always occur with tenants and in many cases it is a change of personal circumstances such as job loss, accident or illness that will affect the tenants ability to pay rent or look after the property correctly.

Resolving such situations will usually involve expensive legal costs, sometimes running into thousands of pounds and legal expenses insurance is generally recommended.

Rent guarantee insurance

These policies guarantee that rent is received regardless of the tenants personal circumstances or ability to pay. These policies are most useful for landlords who have a mortgage on the property and are relying on the rental yield to service the loan. Policies will often guarantee rental payment for periods of six or twelve months.

Regulation

It is always advisable to shop around for insurance and understand what each policy provides. Always ensure that the insurance provider is a member of the General Insurance Standards Council (GISC) and is fully regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

Please note that this article is for information and guidance purposes only. With all financial matters you should seek professional advice with respect to your own specific circumstances.

Don Suter is Managing Editor of the UK Property Portal (http://www.ukpropertyportal.co.uk), an online directory and magazine for UK property sales, rental, surveyors, mortgages, conveyancing, property insurance, removals, news, investment and development

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In the life insurance business, there are highs and there are lows in activity. There are several factors that traditionally contribute to this ebb and flow, but lately there have been some anomalies that are affecting the life insurance sales industry. In this article, I will examine some reasons why insurance sales would be on the rise or why they are currently in a lull.

Back a few months ago, when it was the beginning of summer, I expected a downturn in business as I always can anticipate in the summer season. Summers are slow as far as life insurance sales because people are either on vacation or they’re just too darn hot to get out and meet with a salesman. What’s more, the life insurance salesman too is on vacation. The agents usually go out and enjoy the nice weather and take the summer off to golf or maybe meet with prospects in a more relaxed atmosphere. Well, the summer is over (as far as the calendar is concerned), but the weather is still fine outside - at least in the South. At any rate, business is still running at a slow pace.

Speaking for this particular month (September 2005), it very well may be that since consumer confidence is down to an all time low since 1990, hurricane Rita and Hurricane Katrina just ripped through, and the fact that gas is at an all time high, consumers are thinking less about the future (life insurance) and more about how to keep afloat right now.

On a more global scale, perhaps life insurance sales are down because of the war in Iraq or the tension between the USA and other Countries.

Also, could it be that the “me” generation is getting its way? Are folks just not thinking about the welfare of their families as much?

One thing that has impacted the service industry in a huge way is the “do not bother me” mentality that we’ve all adopted. The do not call list, do not fax list, and no soliciting signs are crushing an industry that once thrived and depended upon these methods of communication. The life insurance agent or broker faces a real challenge where this is concerned.

So what can we do to boost sales? Can the companies help? My opinion is “yes”, the insurance companies CAN help to boost business. Just recently, Prudential has aired a consumer awareness commercial about the importance of life insurance where a boy asks his Father “Dad, do you have life insurance?”. I propose that we, as agents and general agents rally the insurance companies and get them to raise awareness and create desire to protect wealth, secure businesses well-being, and promote a better future.

By: Ashley Brooks, CLTC

Ashley is the marketing vice president for the Family Life Insurance Brokerage Business and has a background in Health & Financial Underwriting, Insurance Plan Design, and “best deal” shopping. Brokerage Services carries only A rated (or better) companies in their product portfolio and has been serving the needs of Independent Insurance Agents since 1977.

Get a free online term life insurance quote from Ashley Brooks here Term Life Insurance Quote

General Life Insurance Quote Agent Online Here: Life Insurance Quote

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We have just had the first year’s anniversary of the flash flooding which occurred at Boscastle in Cornwall. The floods saw some of the worst damage wrought by sudden rainfall in the UK for many years.

The flood was caused by the remains of a hurricane which crossed the Atlantic, collecting vast amounts of water crossing, and was then pushed high above an area inland of the village depositing around 1,500m litres (330m gallons) of water within two hours.

At the time insurance companies were estimating the bill for commercial damage to local businesses, would be as high as

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