Personalised cover underwritten by one of the UK's leading insurers
Landlord insurance
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Landlord insurance quote
Why do you need landlord insurance?
Whether you're the owner of residential or commercial rental properties, each landlord requires an insurance policy that's right for them – a string of commercial properties for example aren't likely to have the same risks as a single residential let.
To make sure you're covered for the risks most associated with your needs as a landlord, you might want to consider insurance that you can alter to your requirements. That's why we offer customisable cover, which allows you to tailor your protection and only pay for what you need.
10% of landlords paid £12.95 a month or less for their Superscript insurance between January and March 2023.
- Insurance specifically designed for UK landlords
- Protect your property portfolio against a range of risks
- Unique products for commercial and residential landlords
- Multi-property discounts up to 17.5%
Be quote confident
We're big on fairness. So if you find a lower price for a comparable quote, we won't just match it – we'll go one better and beat it.
So even better than apples to apples, apples to better apples. We're talking Galas to Braeburns.
As you'd expect, T&Cs apply.
Customisable landlord insurance for different property types
We worked in partnership with leading underwriters to design a comprehensive range of covers specifically to meet the needs of landlords, in both the residential and commercial sectors.
Landlord insurance for residential properties
Cover that is specifically designed for landlords of residential properties in the private rental sector (PRS).
This can include everything from studio flats to family houses. We can also cover houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) and student houses.
Commercial landlord insurance
Comprehensive cover that is tailor-made for landlords with one or more commercial properties that are let out to business tenants, including shops, office space and warehouses.
Multi-property portfolio landlord insurance
The ideal cover for landlords with a portfolio of up to 10 properties, including both commercial and residential premises. Perfect for investor landlords with a buy-to-let property portfolio.
Landlords' legal protection and rent guarantee
Add landlords' legal protection and rent guarantee to cover your legal expenses for repossessing a property after an eviction and recovering rental arrears, as well as paying out money lost in the event that your tenant stops paying their rent.
What does landlords insurance cover?
While every property is different, there are some covers that make sense for a lot of landlords. Here are the core covers that we include in every policy:
Buildings
If you are a freeholder (or a leaseholder with responsibilities to maintain the building that your property sits in) then this element of your landlord insurance can cover the cost of repairing accidental or malicious damage to the building, including:
- Clearing, cleaning or repairing drains, gutters or sewers following damage to the property
- Damage to cables and underground pipes
- Fire and flood damage
- Subsidence damage (optional for commercial properties)
- Sourcing the damage and repairing any tank or pipe caused by a water leak
Read about the important differences between home insurance and landlord insurance.
Fixtures and fittings
Whether you're the landlord of a freehold or leasehold property, you may be responsible for maintaining the fixtures and fittings within the property. You will be covered for repair or replacement costs of fixtures and fitting within the property, including:
- Breakage of fixed glass and fixed mirrors
- Damage caused by the illegal cultivation of drugs
- Theft of the building's fabric (eg. roof tiles or insulation)
- Damage to electrical sockets or light fittings
Property owners' liability
Covers your liability to pay compensation and legal costs (between £1 million and £10 million) in relation to bodily injury to either a tenant or member of the public.
This includes legal costs (up to £1 million) for any alleged breaches of:
- Health and Safety legislation
- Consumer Protection legislation
- Food Standards legislation
It also includes legal costs (up to £1 million) in connection to defense against:
- Manslaughter
- Corporate manslaughter
- Corporate homicide
- Culpable homicide defence
Additional covers
On top of these options, we also offer a bunch of other covers to boost your policy and give you the perfect protection.
Employers' liability
This is a legal requirement for most landlords that employ staff (such as an admin assistant or handyman) and covers your liability to pay compensation and legal costs in relation to work-related sickness or bodily injury of an employee.
Terrorism
Covers your repair costs for damage to your property, your financial losses and your property owners liability in the event of an act of terrorism, which would not otherwise be an insurable event.
Rental income
If your property becomes damaged to the point that it is uninhabitable, the rental income you would have been paid is covered for a period of up to 24 months while the property cannot be occupied.
Landlords contents
Covers the value of all of the items in the rental property that belong to the landlord (such as upholstery and furniture) against accidental and malicious damage, up to a limit of £75,000.
What isn't covered by landlords' insurance?
We'd love to be able to cover every situation a landlord might encounter but, as with all insurance policies, there are some things we cannot cover, including:
- Any property that is let out to a local authority with an unknown occupant
- Mansion blocks or the flats contained within them
- Homes that are unoccupied for more than six months of the year
- HMOs with more than five tenancy agreements or any tenancy agreements of less than 180 days
- Any damage which results from acts of fraud or dishonesty by you or your employees
- Any costs associated with damage caused by the property being used for illegal activities, other than damage caused by the illegal cultivation of drugs
- Any liability arising from exposure to, or the presence of, asbestos
- Any works of art valued at greater than £1,000 or any jewellery, watches, fur or precious metal or stone under landlord's contents cover
Once you've completed a quote, you'll be able to view a summary of cover. Please always refer to your policy documents for full details around exclusions, terms and limits of your customised cover. Read our guide to understanding your policy documents.
Enjoy a multi-property discount
Looking to insure a portfolio of up to 10 properties? We like to reward landlords who insure all their properties under one policy.
You can get a discount of up to 17.5% off your total premium for residential properties and up to 5% off for commercial properties.
There's no requirement to have all of the same additional covers for each property, so you can build a personalised policy that's built around what each of your properties actually needs, and then enjoy a discount for doing so.
What our expert says
George Besant, Underwriter
A common misconception is that landlord insurance is the same as a household policy and that they’re interchangable. This is a very risky assumption as a property being rented out to a tenant under a household policy could find their claim declined.
We insure a large variety of property types
From renting out a studio apartment to letting a an entire row of flats with a cafe at the end, whatever property is in your portfolio we've got you covered.
While we insure many different landlords, here are a few popular rentals we cover:
- Studio apartments
- Flats and houses
- Commercial units
- Mixed commercial and residential properties
- Portfolios of up to 10 properties
- Student houses
- Houses in multiple occupation (HMOs)
To check if we cover your needs as a landlord, simply click 'Start your quote'.
Landlord insurance claims
Landlord insurance can cover a range of different accidents and risks both in relation to your property and your tenants. Here are a few examples of possible claims scenarios.
Damage to your building
After a flooding event, your property is damaged to a significant degree with extensive repairs required. A landlord insurance policy can cover the repair expenses.
Lost rental income
After a fire, your property is damaged to the point that it is uninhabitable by your tenants. Your insurance policy can cover the loss of rental income you would have been paid, so you are not left out of pocket.
Injury to a tenant
If a tenant is unfortunately injured because an element of the building is unsafe, you may be liable to pay compensation and your insurance could cover this expense.
How do landlord insurance claims work?
The below is a good guide to the process and timescales you can expect when you need to make a claim under your policy.
If you’re ever unsure whether you can or should claim, it’s best to get in touch and we can let you know.
Notify us of the claim
Contact us by email at claims@gosuperscript.com, by 24/7 freephone on 0800 772 3059 or by logging in to your customer portal.
Ideally this should be done as soon as possible and within 30 days of you becoming aware of anything which you think may be covered by your insurance.
A good indicator of whether or not to let us know is if there’s an issue which may require a payment to be made on your behalf.
We'll get on the case
We’ll acknowledge your claim within 24 hours, and sometimes in as little as 30 minutes! This means you’ll receive email confirmation of your claims reference and contact information should you need to speak to us.
We will then reach out to you within 48 hours to request any extra information we need to progress your claim.
We’ll keep you updated on the next steps as the claim progresses.
A decision is made
We’ll let you know if your claim is successful or not. If your claim isn’t covered, we will always try to point you in the right direction and support you as best we can in getting back to normal.
Read about the most common reasons claims aren't paid.
If your claim is successful, once we have all the documents we need, we will aim to settle claims such as accidental damage, theft and lost equipment within five working days.
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Landlord insurance FAQs
How much does landlord insurance cost?
Superscript's landlord insurance starts from just £12.95 a month, but the price of your policy could vary depending on how many properties are covered, whether they are commercial or residential buildings, their location and a number of other factors.
10% of landlords paid £12.95 a month or less for their Superscript insurance between January and March 2023.
What types of properties does landlord insurance cover?
Superscript's landlords' insurance products include cover for both residential and commercial properties, or a mix of the two, including studio apartments, flats, houses, warehouses, office space and shops.
Can I get landlord insurance if my property is temporarily unoccupied?
Yes, with Superscript's landlord insurance your cover is valid even if your property is unoccupied for a period of up to 45 consecutive days.
However, if the property is unoccupied for longer than that, there are certain things you must do for your policy to remain valid, including, but not limited to:
- You must let Superscript know as soon as the property becomes unoccupied for longer than 45 days
- The property must be inspected both internally and externally at least once a week, with a written report of the inspection
- All refuse and waste must be regularly removed
- The property must be adequately secured and letterboxes sealed
- Gas, water and electricity supplies must be turned off at the mains
- All damage must be rectified immediately
- All water systems must be drained between 1st October and 31st March
Superscript reserves the right to cancel a policy if your property is unoccupied for more than 45 consecutive days.
What excess will I pay?
The amount of excess you will be required to pay depends on what kind of insured event has occurred. Superscript's excesses include:
- Fire, lightning, explosion, aircraft, or earthquake - no excess
- Damage caused by flood - minimum excess £300
- Malicious damage and theft by tenants - £500
- All other insured damage (where an excess applies) - minimum excess £250
- Subsidence - minimum excess £1,000
- Property owners liability - £200
Can I insure multiple properties?
Yes, you are able to insure a portfolio of up to 10 properties on one policy.
What if I need to change my policy once it's started?
You won't be charged any fees or penalties for making changes to your policy at any time, just get in touch with out customer service team and they'll be happy to help.
What's the difference between rent guarantee insurance and rental income cover?
Superscript offers two optional covers called 'rental income cover' and 'rent guarantee insurance' as part of our residential landlords insurance product.
Rental income can pay you the income you would have received in rent if your property is damaged and becomes uninhabitable by a tenant for up to 24 months.
Rent guarantee, meanwhile, pays you the rent you are due in the event that your tenant or ex-tenant still occupies your property but does not pay their rent.
Is landlord insurance tax deductible?
Yes, all covers included in your landlord insurance policy are categorised as 'allowable expenses' by HMRC. This means you can write off the cost of your insurance policy against your taxable rental income for the tax year.
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Individual cover purchased online is offered on a standardised, non-advised basis and is not bespoke. Terms, conditions and coverage limits are predetermined by the Underwriter. If you require bespoke coverage offered on an advised basis, please contact our in-house broking team.
Authorised by the FCA
The FCA supervises UK financial services firms to protect consumers. We are directly authorised and regulated by the FCA and our Firm Reference Number is 656459. These details can be confirmed on the Financial Services Register at www.fca.org.uk or by calling the FCA on 0845 606 1234.
A-rated financial strength
Our insurance products are underwritten by Standard & Poor’s A-rated financial strength or higher. This means the underwriter has been independently assessed by the world’s leading credit rating provider and found to have a strong capacity to meet financial commitments (pay claims).
Protected by the FSCS
If you are a business with an annual turnover under £1m, charity with an annual income under £1m, or trust with net assets under £1m, then you will be entitled to compensation from the FSCS in the unlikely event we cannot meet our obligations. Full details and further information on the scheme are available at www.fscs.org.uk.