When you’re renting a property from someone else, home insurance is one of the expenses you’ll need to factor into your overall costs.
While it’s obviously cheapest just to have no home insurance at all, the costs of not being covered can be significant. There are many cheap home insurance deals available for tenants that cover the following and more.
* Public liability insurance
Public liability insurance protects you against any compensation claims made by visitors to your property. If for example you threw a flat warming party and an item of yours fell on someone’s head due to a poorly fitted shelf, they may want to make a claim against you, especially if the injury has caused them to lose earnings.
If you don’t have this type of tenants’ insurance in place, you could be faced with a substantial personal bill for compensation which could result in you not being able to pay rent or any other bills.
* Protecting your own contents
Your landlord may have their own insurance to protect their possessions in your rented accommodation, but that won’t cover yours too.
When you’re looking for cheap home insurance quotes, make sure your own possessions are protected too by taking out contents insurance as well as any buildings insurance you may need. Some landlords make their tenants responsible for buildings insurance too, although though this isn’t very common.
* Accidental damage
It’s also a good idea to take out accidental damage cover for your own possessions and those of your landlord. Accidental damage is usually an added extra on cheap home insurance quotes, but it could end up saving you money if something was to happen.
For example, you might spill red wine over an expensive sofa and have to pay for the repair yourself if you don’t have home insurance to cover it.
Summary
When you’re renting out a flat or house from someone else, it’s important to factor in any additional monthly outgoings such as contents insurance as well as the rent amount to make sure you can afford it.
You should never assume the building and your contents are covered by any landlord insurance policy, always ask the question so you know exactly where you stand.