Covered! O
ne of the key components of the professional letting agent’s business is protecting the business, its landlords and its tenants. Insurances are, to
differing degrees, mandatory, advisable and desirable. There are hundreds of choices, dozens
of providers, a confusing range of product names and some providers wrap several ‘covers’ into one package. So how do you find the right insurances for your business? Can you make any money out of them? Should you insist that all your landlords and tenants have some level of insurance cover? Should you arrange insurances for your clients… or should they buy online? Last month PROPERTYdrum reviewed insurances available for landlords’ buildings; this month we have taken out the binoculars and focused on insurances on offer for tenants and asked, “What is your USP?”
The Lettings Insurances Review
Lettings Insurances Review – Part 2 Tenants’ contents policies As agents will know, it can be difficult
BrYn cole paragon advance
The message is getting through; tenants insurances are our greatest area of growth!’
getting the message through and, with rent to pay, food to buy, new books needed, not to mention that major prerequisite of the modern young tenant, the 48-inch plasma TV, can they afford insurance anyway? The answer for agents is of course, they
can’t afford not to. Even more important in many ways is that if the agent can’t persuade the tenants to ensure that they have sufficient insurance, it’s inevitable that the agent will be the first to hear of the great distress caused by the loss of their possessions through theft, fire or flood or any other disaster. Yes, it is definitely in a letting agent’s interest to encourage tenants to have their own insurance. Andrew McMillan at Letsure says it’s a straightforward sell. “The simple fact is that insurance gives you peace of mind.” The good news is that the message
In November we will look at Rental
Warranty/Legal Expenses with that vital adjunct to rental insurances – Referencing and, finally, in December, we’ll explore the Professional Indemnity policies.
mIchael porTman leT Insurance
This new policy cuts down on checkout shocks and gives an additional income stream for agents.’
TenanTs’ Insurances The providers included in this review are: Endsleigh, Paragon Advance, Home & Legacy, Homelet, Leaseguard,
LettingRef.com, Letsure, Let Insurance Services, PropertyRisks and Rentshield. Many tenants, especially those
leaving home for the first time, have little understanding of the need to take out insurance; it’s all a bit grown up, having to take the responsibility for a home and all that you have in it. Mum and Dad have always handled these things – surely their stuff is covered by their home policy?
is getting through – Bryn Cole at FCC Paragon says that sales of Tenants Insurances is their greatest area of growth. Homelet’s Andy Wynne-Jones is equally upbeat; he says that since Homelet launched its new tenant insurance product in July 2009, sales have doubled.
advIsIng TenanTs Once your tenant understands the need for insurances, what should you be advising him
to buy? Well, as we said last month, the first point is that you are not allowed to advise anyone on purchasing insurance unless you
are authorised by the FSA or you are regulated by an FSA authorised insurance broker. Your chosen insurance provider will be giving applicants the ‘advice’ element of the transaction through their information packs.
PROPERTYdrum OCTOBER 2010 51
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