Landlords Contents Insurance is insurance for a person who lets out their property but who lets it out with their contents still in the property. This insurance enables a landlord to protect things such as the curtains, carpets and blinds in a property that they have rented out as the building insurance will not cover these items.

Contents are often defined as things such as household goods, furnishings, window dressings, carpets, floor coverings and white goods. The main thing that the insurers look at when they decide what contents are and what is buildings is that it will come under the heading of contents if when you leave the property they could be taken with you without damaging the property. For things such as laminate flooring this is a good way to separate the things covered as if it was stuck to the floor then it would come under buildings insurance as you couldn’t possibly remove it without damaging the property, but if it is just click and fit type then it can be easily removed and could therefore come under the heading of contents.

Contents insurance will protect the things that you leave in the property from things such as:

  • Fire, Lightning, Earthquake and Explosion (including smoke damage)
  • Riot, Civil Commotion, Strikes, Labour Disturbances and Political Disturbances
  • Storm or Flood, Escape of Water or Oil
  • Theft or Attempted Theft
  • Collision by any Vehicle or Animal (excluding pets)
  • Falling of Trees, Telegraph Poles and Lampposts
  • Subsidence, Ground Heave or Landslip

With some companies you will also being able to get a quotation for Contents Insurance including Accidental Damage cover but not all companies will offer this extra on contents despite the fact that all companies will be able to offer you a quotation on buildings insurance including Accidental Damage. However no company will be able to offer a quotation that includes cover for Malicious Damage by the Tenant as this is seen as too high a risk for insurers to cover.

There is usually a minimum amount of contents insurance that you must have depending on the company that you get a quotation with although it is generally a small amount such as either two thousand pounds or five thousand pounds. Due to the fact that the contents are in a property that is rented out it is highly unusual to see a high sum of contents like you would get if you were insuring contents in a property that you live in yourself but some people still rent properties out with a lot of stuff left in them which is why they may want this insurance.

Premiums generally start from about £70 for the years cover and it is something that every landlord looks at if they rent their property out with contents left in their, when you consider what could happen and what the insurance could end up being used for if the worst happens then it seems that for such a small premium it could save you a lot of money if your contents were ever damaged in any of the above ways.