Written by, Marija Petkova
Updated June, 23, 2023
Landlord insurance can help reduce some of the risks involved when renting out property.
Below you will find a list of the best landlord insurance companies in the UK as well as some tips to keep in mind when choosing the right policy for your needs.
The Alan Boswell Group is a specialist landlord insurance company, operating for over 40 years. They offer several types of landlord insurance products, including combined buildings and contents insurance (or separate policies), alternative accommodation, loss of rent, malicious damage cover and more.
There are plenty of optional extras too—from up to £100,000 in legal expenses cover to rent guarantee (up to £2,500 per month should tenants default on payments) and home emergency cover.
The company also provides multi-property landlord insurance, covering your entire portfolio from Airbnb and holiday homes to flats and commercial properties.
Aviva, one of the biggest home and life insurance providers in the UK, offers unlimited buildings and contents coverage for landlords, as well as liability and rent loss insurance. Trace and access cover is available too—in case of a water leak, you can claim up to £5,000 for any damages caused by locating and repairing the leak.
Landlords can also purchase extra accidental damage cover providing additional protection for sanitary fittings, glass on furniture, non-portable home entertainment equipment and other items that are not typically included in standard contents insurance.
A household name in the home insurance market, Direct Line for Business has been offering top-rated landlord coverage at affordable premiums since 2007.
Direct Line’s landlord insurance policy is one of the best landlord building insurance in the UK. It includes several cover types as standard, such as alternative accommodation, carpets and rug cover and up to £2m in public liability insurance. Moreover, this award-winning insurance product also includes boiler cover, while home emergency cover and rent guarantee insurance can be purchased as optional extras—in this case, there is no limit to the number of claims and no excess insurance to pay.
If you are looking for to protect your investment, Axa’s landlord insurance is one of the top options to consider. This insurer covers up to 10 properties and includes glass replacement (for windows, doors and partitions), trace and access cover and alternative accommodation insurance as standard. It also provides up to £10 million in liability coverage.
Should you need more than the essentials, you can tailor the policy by adding extras, which range from up to £75.000 contents insurance (for residential and up to £50,000 for commercial properties) to subsidence cover and accidental damage insurance.
Saga is a specialist insurer for UK residents over 50. Their standard landlord insurance product provides buildings cover (including loss or rent and liability insurance) and contents insurance (with flexible levels of coverage), plus accidental damage cover.
A unique feature of Saga is that they offer legal expenses coverage as standard in addition to unlimited legal advice which can prove invaluable when dealing with tenant agreement infringements or eviction.
For an additional price, Saga will throw in home emergency coverage that can help if you are faced with blocked drains, burst pipes, or pest infestations.
Even though British Gas is best known as an energy supplier—in fact, it is one of the biggest providers in the country—the company also offers a comprehensive landlord insurance policy that includes buildings insurance, alternative accommodation and liability cover up to £10 million as standard. You can also add up to ten properties under one policy and pay no interest on monthly instalments.
Landlords have a choice of optional extras as well, ranging from accidental damage and rent loss insurance (up to 36 months) to contents insurance up to £50,000.
More Than landlord insurance is one of the rare insurers in the UK that includes malicious damages and accidental damages cover as standard. This not only gives you added peace of mind but makes this one of the best value landlord insurance policies.
Their buildings insurance also covers properties (externally and internally) against floods, fire, vandalism, and theft. Contents insurance is an optional add-on and comes with four levels of coverage to choose from, as is loss of rent, alternative accommodation and home emergency cover (up to £1,000).
Homeprotect offers several customised insurance products, i.e. landlords can choose buildings- or content-only insurance, or a combination of both. If you opt for the latter you can upgrade the standard policy with home emergency, legal expenses and lost key cover.
The stand-alone buildings insurance, on the other hand, includes loss of rent and damages to outbuildings in addition to damages caused by a vehicle collision.
Homeprotect has a separate product for live-in lodgers that can cover up to £25,000 in legal expenses and up to £500 for home emergencies, such as burst pipes or blocked drains.
Compare My Insurance is a commercial insurance broker, founded in 2008. Since then the company has been offering bespoke insurance products for all types of landlords and tenants. Compare My Insurance partners with 200+ of the UK’s largest underwriters, allowing you to find the cheapest premiums and most suitable policy for you in a matter of minutes.
Their partners offer full buildings coverage, including loss of rent, loss of licence protection and glass and lock replacements. They also provide specialist insurance for landlords of unoccupied properties, protecting them against theft, accidental damage and damages to fixtures and fittings.
Adrian Flux, one of the UK’s biggest specialist insurance providers, has recently launched a new product ensuring landlords won’t have to foot a huge legal bill when and if they have a dispute with tenants. You can choose the basic or premium level, which includes up to £1,000 coverage per month for loss of rent and up to £50,000 for contract breaches, tax disputes, and identity fraud.
In addition to legal expenses coverage, Adrian Flux provides several discounts on top of already competitive pricing and works with 40+ underwriters to cater to all types of landlords and tenants, including students, professionals, and asylum seekers.
Known for offering market-leading and innovative insurance products, Let Alliance has a great deal for clients with large portfolios. Namely, landlords with more than 3 properties can benefit from a 5% discount or a generous 10% for those with huge portfolios of 30+ houses.
Their competitively-priced standard landlord cover comes with up to 20% cover for loss of rental income, trace and access and malicious & accidental damage cover, at no extra charge.
Emergency coverage is purchased separately and includes 24/7 coverage and up to £500 in damages per claim.
Before you take out an insurance policy, you need to make sure that you understand what landlord insurance typically covers and how much it costs.
Landlord insurance is an insurance product specifically tailored to help reduce the risk of financial loss when renting out a property. It typically covers the landlord against any damages to the building and furniture and fixtures provided.
In essence, yes. Even the best homeowners insurance companies offer separate products for landlords, designed to cover landlord-specific risks, such as liability insurance and loss of rental income in addition to buildings and contents coverage.
Landlord cover usually includes several different types of insurance:
Bear in mind that you can always choose insurance that covers just one type of risk or go for a comprehensive policy and select add-ons such as alternate accommodation or home emergency cover.
Most insurers will not cover damages caused by
There is no definitive answer as your premiums are calculated depending on several factors such as:
There are a few ways to save money when purchasing landlord insurance:
Landlord insurance is not a legal requirement, but it is a necessity. Renting out properties comes with a lot of risks—tenants could damage the home or it could be unoccupied for several months, resulting in financial losses.
So, if you are getting into the property market, think about what kind of landlord insurance you need, compare quotes and get coverage for your property. It may not eliminate all the risks involved in letting property, however, it will give you peace of mind.
No, taking out landlord insurance isn’t obligatory in the UK, though if you’re taking out or switching to a buy-to-let mortgage, the lender will probably ask you to take out a policy as part of the mortgage deal.
Landlord insurance in the UK provides standard buildings and contents coverage, as well as liability cover in case someone is injured on the property. There are additional extras to choose from including loss of rent, alternative accommodation, malicious damage caused by tenants or vandalism and more.
Most insurance companies offer rent guarantee policies that cover unpaid rent while the property is unoccupied due to damages or repairs. This is usually provided alongside alternative accommodation cover, i.e. paying for a place your tenants can stay while the property is uninhabitable. The best landlord insurance in the UK, though, can also provide coverage if the tenant defaults on payments.