If you are taking expert advice from experienced providers of landlord cover such asCover4LetProperty, you may find that they might typically advise you to avoid certain things that could increase your let property insurance cost.
Some of those might include:
- failing to shop around and compare a number of options before you make your policy selection. It is a very competitive market but you might not be able to take advantage of that if you don’t make the effort to look at a range of different options;
- selecting a policy exclusively based upon its apparent price tag. That’s because some policies might exclude certain things (e.g. subsidence) that other policies might include as standard. If you subsequently want such protection, you may need to pay extra for it;
- purchasing properties that are located in high crime-rate postcodes or in locations with a known predisposition to flooding. Some policies may not differentiate between postcode addresses but some may. Those that do might significantly increase your premium if your property comes into some of the above types of area;
- including high-risk items in your contents cover. Of course, if your target tenant segments include families or young professionals, making sure that your property has a minimum level of technology support might be an important selling factor. However, if you include things such as expensive flat screen TVs, Hi-Fi systems, computers and electronic gadgets in your contents, you might find that your premium will shoot up and some policies might actually exclude those types of items in totality;
- making small-value claims on your policy. You might typically find that one of the biggest single components in helping to keep your cost down is your no claims discount. You may need to do the mathematics very carefully before deciding that it makes sense to lodge a claim for a relatively modest amount of money, given the effect it might have on your premium subsequently should your no claims discount be lost;
- significantly increasing the number of tenancies in place within your property. That may indeed yield you a higher level of rental income but in the case of some policies it might also result in a considerably higher annual premium. Once again, the maths will need to be clear.
If you are dealing with the policy provider who understands the landlords’ insurance marketplace very well, they may be able to offer you a range of options for consideration, all of which might result in you either reducing your premium or avoiding it escalate.
Don’t be afraid to ask for further advice and guidance in this area – it’s typically freely available and may end up saving you money.