Almost everything can now be insured by insurance firms. With so many different forms of insurance to choose from, it can be difficult for commercial property owners to know what they need and what they don’t. We’ll look at what commercial landlord insurance is and the different types of landlord commercial property insurance coverage options available, as well as the cost and the top 10 landlord insurance companies.
Commercial Property Landlord Insurance
Property owners seek commercial property insurance to protect their buildings from financial devastation when they are occupied by other enterprises. Retail stores, take-out restaurants, offices, warehouses, and manufacturing plants are all examples of this. Depending on the size of the property, you may need to insure a mix of residential flats and commercial buildings under a single policy.
Commercial landlord insurance is for a landlord who rents to a third-party firm.
Commercial property insurance differs from a normal residential rental policy in three major ways.
They are as follows:
- Type of building
- Use of the building
- Insurance for businesses
Commercial buildings are usually constructed differently than residential buildings. This means that the property must be covered for a different set of risks A business building could be a timber barn or a steel structure with a large glass-fronted shop window or adjacent residential apartments, for example.
Unique heating and electrical systems, as well as non-standard architectural characteristics like flat roofs or asbestos, may be found in commercial buildings. As a result, repairing and maintaining a property may be a more time-consuming and costly undertaking.
Business properties, on the other hand, are used for commercial purposes. Because the renters are businesses rather than families, they pose a different set of risks to the property. As a result, the risk of fire or structural damage is increased, and a specialized insurance policy can assess these risks and provide adequate coverage.
Even if your property isn’t profitable, you earn an income from it, and this money and investment need to be protected by business insurance. Finding the correct balance of adequate security is the challenge.
What does Commercial Property Landlord Insurance Cover?
- Damages caused by routine maintenance
- Flood Damage
- Sewer Backup
- Hail Damage
- Floods
- Earthquakes
- Hurricanes
- The theft of cash and currency.
- Loss of income.
- Acts of terrorism.
- Loss of rental income
Why a Commercial Landlord Needs Insurance
Unforeseen concerns will develop at some point, and most of these problems can be highly costly, costing a business landlord their property or forcing them to file bankruptcy.
This is why commercial property owners can choose from a variety of insurance choices. Landlords face not just the risk of severe physical damage, but also the potential of lawsuits stemming from injuries or personal property damage in the common space, or in some situations, a tenant’s unit.
Even if a property owner does not feel they would need insurance, most lenders will require it if they want to finance the property, If there is property damage that the landlord can’t afford or chooses not to pay for, they could lose the value of their security on the loan if they don’t have insurance.
However, lenders will want confirmation of insurance coverage from their borrowers, and will likely check on the coverage on a regular basis to ensure it is still in place. If the borrower does not have insurance at any point, the lender will insure it for them.
Insurance Coverage For Commercial Property Landlord
When renting out a commercial property, you’ll need a variety of insurance to prevent against fires, floods, unintentional damage, criminal activity, and storms, all of which could have a major effect on your income if you’re uninsured.
#1. Buildings Insurance
The structure of your building, as well as the walls, doors, windows, flooring, pipes, and ceilings, will be the most important elements to insure on the policy. In this instance, a fire caused by a takeout oven might completely damage a business, leading in unrecoverable repair expenditures. A suitable policy would be based on the building’s reconstruction cost in order to get you back up and running as soon as possible.
#2. Property Owners’ Liability Insurance
Commercial Property Landlord Insurance is another important level of protection for business buildings, providing coverage for diverse sums up to £10 million in most cases. This shields you, the landlord, from legal action if a tenant or member of the public gets hurt as a result of a fault with your property. For example, a pipe could burst within a tenant’s shop, causing a public slip. Your underlying insurance would cover any later compensation claims.
#3. Employers Liability Insurance
It is a legal obligation to carry out work at any of the buildings if you employ any members of staff, such as cleaners/caretakers or volunteers. It is also a legal obligation to carry out £10 million in employers’ liability insurance. This sort of insurance protects you from claims of illness, injury, or negligence brought forward by your employees.
#4. Loss of Rent Insurance
Loss of rent protection can be added to your commercial landlord insurance as an optional feature. You would be entitled to file a claim for any lost income if your business building was damaged by an insured calamity and your premises became uninhabitable. This would allow you to continue working while the repairs are being made.
#5. Contents Insurance
Property owners frequently include fixtures, fittings, and other objects in their commercial property insurance policies. When damage occurs, this can safeguard you financially from unexpected costs. For example, if you are uninsured, your own fixtures and fittings may be wrecked as a result of water damage during a flood and will need to be fixed at your own.
#6. Accidental Damage Insurance
To protect your building and contents from unexpected damage caused by a renter or a member of the public, you may wish to include incidental damage insurance in your policy.
Bear in mind that, in order to prevent being underinsured, it’s critical to specify the suitable level of sums insured when purchasing coverage.
How Much Commercial Landlord Insurance Costs
Since the price of a commercial landlord policy varies widely depending on the kind, condition, size, and location of the property, the owner, and previous claims filed against the property or owner, there is no single pricing range for all commercial landlord insurance.
The cost of property insurance is mostly determined by the amount of coverage required. Small commercial rental properties will pay less, whereas large commercial rental properties will pay significantly more.
Liability insurance is the same way. Commercial landlords with tiny business offices will likely require less insurance than property owners with huge corporations, who are more vulnerable to financial loss as tenants.
Top 10 Landlord Insurance Companies in the UK
The following are the top 10 landlord companies in the UK:
#1. Age Co
- Home Insurance for People Over 50
- There are no hidden costs.
- Call centre in the United Kingdom
- ‘New’ cover for ‘Old’ cover
- Service that has won awards
- 24-hour legal assistance
- Age Co over 50s Home Insurance provides both buildings and contents insurance, which can be purchased separately or as part of a package.
- Profits are donated to Age UK.
#2. More Than
- More Than Home Insurance has been providing quality coverage since 2001, with 8 out of 10 customers renewing their coverage.
- Call centres in the United Kingdom are available to assist.
- There are two levels of coverage available: primary and upgraded.
- As standard, buildings coverage of up to £1 million and contents coverage of up to £100,000 are provided.
- As standard, you’ll get up to £200 in home emergency assistance. More than one authorized tradesperson must be used. Home emergency assistance is not available for the first 7 days after purchasing the policy.
- If your home becomes uninhabitable as a result of a valid claim, you will be provided with alternative accommodation as standard.
#3. Aviva Home Insurance
Aviva Home Insurance provides Defaqto 5 Star rated home insurance to over 577,000* customers.
Why should you choose Aviva?
If you need to make a new claim, you can do so right away online; they’ve made it quick and simple to do so. If you need to contact them, you can do so at any time of day or night. In addition, they settled 90% of all home insurance claims in 2020, which amounted to over 87,000 claims.
Home Combined Insurance – If you want cheap home insurance, get a quote from Admiral – you could pay as little as £113 to insure your home.
Home Buildings– If you’re looking for cheap Buildings insurance, get a quote from Admiral – you could pay as little as £103.
#4. Policy Expert
- Prices are set for the next two years.
- The UK’s leading provider of home insurance rates
- There are three levels of coverage: Essential, Premier, and Midas.
- The plain English campaign has approved the policy wording.
- Over 700,000 customers have put their trust in us.
- Switching saves money for 91 percent of customers.
- All policies operate on the “new for old” principle.
#5. Admiral
Home Combined Insurance – If you want cheap home insurance, get a quote from Admiral – you could pay as little as £113 to insure your home.
Home Buildings– If you’re looking for cheap Buildings insurance, get a quote from Admiral – you could pay as little as £103.
#6. Lloyds Bank
Some of the features and benefits of Lloyds Bank’s landlord insurance.
- Landlord’s building insurance cover
- Covers damage including fire, storm, flood or vandalism
- Only covers buildings but a range of optional extras are available
- Accidental damage
- Landlord’s contents
- Loss of rent
- Subsidence, landslip and heave
- owner’s liability
- Employers’ liability cover
- Legal expenses
#7. Covea
Some of the features and benefits of Covea’s landlord insurance.
- Property owner’s insurance
- damage of property
- Property owner’s liability
- Equipment breakdown
- Loss of rent on residential
- Additional cover available for contents
- Other optional extras available
- Maximum cover of £5 million
- £5 million property owner’s liability
- Available for residential and commercial property
#8. AmTrust Europe
Some of the features and benefits of AmTrust Europe’s landlord insurance.
- Residential landlord insurance
- Professional lets
- DSS lets
- Student accommodation
- Asylum seeker lets
- Optional loss of rent cover
- Can add property owner’s liability
- Legal protection
- Extend to include employer’s liability
- Can also include terrorism
#9. CNA Hardy
Some of the features and benefits of CNA Hardy’s landlord insurance.
- Property owner insurance
- Residential and commercial properties
- Covers all risks
- Including third party liability
- Additional extra cover available
- Will insure SMEs, light industrial, leisure and hospitality
- Local knowledge and expertise
- International provider
- Has offices in the UK
- Available through brokers and intermediaries
#10. Churchill
Some of the features and benefits of Churchill’s landlord insurance.
- Offers a range of insurance designed for landlords
- Buy-to-let insurance
- Buildings insurance
- Contents insurance
- Landlord boiler cover
- Loss of rent cover
- Replacement locks
- Buildings cover up to £10 million
- Contents cover up to £500,000
- Offers a 10% discount for existing Churchill policyholders
Who is responsible for commercial landlord insurance landlord or tenant?
It’s your landlord’s responsibility to organize buildings insurance. Buildings insurance isn’t required by law, but it’s a good idea for landlords to have it in place to safeguard both their renters and their investment.
What is the difference between landlord insurance and building insurance?
Landlord insurance protects you from risks that come with your buy-to-let property and rental business. Buildings insurance covers the expense of renovating or rebuilding your home, whilst contents insurance protects your belongings in the event they are stolen or destroyed.
Is commercial landlord insurance mandatory?
Although building insurance is not mandated by law, most mortgage lenders will demand you to get one before they will grant you a loan. Even if you own your business premises outright, you should consider purchasing buildings insurance to protect yourself against the costs of repairs or reconstruction.
