Landlord associations and local-authority landlord liaison teams are often among the most trusted sources of practical information within the private rented sector.

They explain new legislation, organise meetings, distribute updates, arrange training and help landlords understand what good property management looks like. Insurance deserves a regular place within that work.

Many landlords purchase a policy every year but spend little time examining it. Important questions about rebuilding costs, loss of rent, unoccupancy, tenant types and policy conditions may not be considered until a serious incident occurs.

Associations and liaison teams do not need to become insurance advisers. They can still make a substantial difference by improving general awareness, encouraging landlords to ask better questions and signposting them towards appropriately authorised specialists.

Insurance awareness supports responsible letting

Appropriate insurance benefits more than the property owner.

When a fire, flood or escape of water makes a rented home uninhabitable, the landlord may need to repair the building, manage tenant communication and withstand an interruption in rental income.

If the insurance is unsuitable or important information was not disclosed, the financial consequences can delay recovery and create uncertainty for everyone involved.

Improving insurance awareness can support:

• Faster action following serious damage
• Better protection of rental homes
• More realistic rebuilding costs
• Improved business resilience for landlords
• Clearer arrangements during emergencies
• Greater stability for affected tenants
• Better records and risk management

Insurance education should therefore sit alongside information about safety, maintenance, licensing and tenancy management.

Start with the misunderstandings landlords commonly have

Awareness work is most useful when it addresses practical assumptions rather than repeating general messages about “being insured”.

Common misunderstandings include:

• Believing ordinary home insurance is suitable for a tenanted property
• Assuming the market value is the correct buildings sum insured
• Treating every landlord policy as broadly identical
• Expecting wear and tear or poor maintenance to be insured
• Assuming loss-of-rent cover applies whenever a tenant stops paying
• Believing a short period of unoccupancy cannot affect cover
• Failing to disclose an HMO, room-by-room letting or changed tenant type
• Assuming renovations and structural alterations are automatically covered
• Believing tenant damage is always included
• Looking only at the annual premium and ignoring excesses, limits and exclusions

A short briefing built around these examples can be more memorable than a lengthy explanation of insurance terminology.

Explain the difference between the main protections

Landlords benefit from understanding that insurance is made up of separate elements.

An awareness session could explain the general purpose of:

• Buildings insurance
• Landlord contents cover
• Property owners’ liability
• Loss of rent following insured damage
• Alternative-accommodation provisions
• Accidental and malicious damage cover
• Rent and legal protection
• Home-emergency assistance
• Tenant liability insurance
• Cover for unoccupied or renovating property

The purpose is not to tell landlords which products to purchase. It is to show that one heading—“landlord insurance”—can contain several different protections, each with its own definitions and limits.

Landlords can then check their own documents and seek individual guidance where necessary.

Make occupation and property use central topics

Insurers need an accurate description of the risk.

Associations and liaison teams can remind landlords to disclose:

• Whether the property is let or temporarily empty
• The number and type of occupants
• Whether tenants form one household or several
• Whether rooms are let separately
• Whether the property is an HMO
• Whether a licence is required or held
• Whether tenants are students, professionals or another group
• Whether supported or temporary accommodation is being provided
• Whether building work is planned
• Whether the property has suffered previous damage or claims

These details can change during the policy year. A suitable policy at renewal may no longer reflect the risk after a family let becomes a house share or refurbishment begins.

The practical message is simple: tell the broker or insurer when the property’s use changes rather than waiting for the next renewal.

Encourage landlords to check rebuilding costs

The market value of a property is not its rebuilding cost.

Reinstatement can involve demolition, debris removal, labour, materials, professional fees and compliance with current building requirements. The figure may also be affected by the building’s age, construction, location and access.

Landlord groups can encourage members to review rebuilding figures regularly and consider an appropriate professional assessment where the value is uncertain.

Underinsurance can have serious consequences. Depending on the policy wording and circumstances, an inadequate declared value may limit the amount paid following a claim.

This is an important awareness message because the error may remain invisible for years.

Use renewal dates as an education opportunity

Insurance is often renewed quickly, particularly when the landlord is busy or the premium has changed only slightly.

Associations and liaison teams can encourage landlords to begin reviewing their requirements before renewal rather than simply accepting the existing arrangement.

A renewal reminder could ask:

• Has the occupation changed?
• Is the rebuilding figure still appropriate?
• Have rooms, kitchens or bathrooms been added?
• Is the property ever left empty?
• Is the rental income correctly recorded?
• Are landlord-owned contents adequately insured?
• Have all claims and incidents been declared?
• What excesses and important exclusions apply?
• What claims support is available?
• Are emergency contact details readily accessible?

A simple checklist distributed several weeks before renewal can prompt landlords to gather documents and seek clarification in good time.

Include insurance in landlord events

Associations and councils already organise landlord forums, accreditation sessions and information events. Insurance can be included without allowing it to dominate the programme.

Useful formats include:

• A short presentation on common insurance gaps
• A question-and-answer session with an experienced property-insurance specialist
• A renewal-document checklist
• A case study showing how an ordinary incident becomes a claim
• A seasonal briefing on escape of water, storms or winter precautions
• A session for HMO and portfolio landlords
• A short article in a landlord newsletter
• A downloadable insurance-awareness guide

The content should be practical, accurate and clearly separated from any individual recommendation or sales activity.

Where a commercial provider contributes, the relationship should be transparent so landlords understand who is presenting and how to request further information.

New and accidental landlords may need additional help

Experienced portfolio landlords may already understand many insurance requirements. Someone letting a former home for the first time may not.

New landlords can mistakenly leave ordinary household insurance in place, fail to tell their mortgage provider or overlook the effect of tenants occupying the property.

Liaison teams frequently encounter landlords through registration, licensing, accreditation, housing-supply or homelessness-prevention work. These contacts provide an opportunity to include a basic insurance prompt among the wider information supplied.

The message should not suggest that the council has checked or approved the landlord’s cover. It should encourage the landlord to confirm that appropriate insurance is in place.

Portfolio landlords need consistent information

Landlords with several properties can face a different awareness problem: information may be scattered across multiple policies and renewal dates.

Groups representing portfolio landlords can highlight the importance of keeping a central record of:

• Insurers and policy numbers
• Renewal dates
• Property and occupancy descriptions
• Building and contents sums insured
• Rental-income figures
• Excesses
• Unoccupancy conditions
• Claims numbers
• Previous claims and incidents

Consistent records make it easier to identify outdated property descriptions and prepare for renewal.

Stay within the correct role

Improving awareness is different from recommending or arranging insurance.

Associations and liaison teams can provide general educational information, encourage landlords to review their documents and signpost them towards an appropriately authorised insurance provider or broker.

They should avoid interpreting an individual policy, promising that a claim would be covered or telling a landlord that a particular product is suitable unless they are authorised and competent to do so.

Any referral or commercial relationship should be transparent. Landlords should remain free to decide which provider they approach.

Clear boundaries protect the organisation while still allowing it to deliver useful education.

NetRent can support insurance-awareness activity

NetRent has worked with landlords and organisations supporting the private rented sector for more than 20 years. We work with Clear Insurance Management and its experienced property-insurance team.

Landlord associations and landlord liaison teams can contact NetRent to discuss general insurance-awareness information for their members or local landlords. This could include educational articles, checklists, presentations or opportunities for landlords to ask general questions about landlord insurance.

Individual landlords whose insurance is approaching renewal can send us their existing documents so the cover, conditions and premium can be reviewed.

Telephone: 01352 721300
Email: insurance@netrent.co.uk

Insurance awareness does not require associations or liaison teams to become insurance specialists. It requires them to ensure that landlords know which questions matter, when to seek help and why the cheapest or most familiar policy may not always be the most suitable.

NetRent does not provide legal advice. This article represents our general understanding of the landlord insurance and rental property market and is provided for information only.