nigel atkinson property risks
Insurers offer support and training to ensure that agents understand the rules. Mark Wooldridge at Home & Legacy
says that in these days of advanced online purchasing, it isn’t difficult to arrange insurances without running the gauntlet of giving advice. “The majority of the agents are directly authorised by the FSA. Those that are not directly authorised act as introducers who provide information to customers. Introducers will either pass on our contact details so that the customer can arrange cover directly with us. For agents who are an Introducer Appointed Representative customer’s contact details may be passed to us so that we can contact them to arrange the insurance. The majority of agents introducing however, would simply direct their customers to our website for the information and to purchase cover online.”
We make it easier for tenants with monthly payments and emergency assistance as standard.’
Services explained, “Proper cover cuts down on check-out shocks. We have designed this new policy to be easy to set up with no renewals to worry about, to provide easier checkouts and quicker re-letting if there has been damage and an additional income stream for agents.” Endsleigh has also gone a step further
tenant poliCies The tenant’s only concern, usually, is that his or her possessions are covered when they are in the rented property – and when they are not. Items at particular risk are those that regularly leave the property, cycles, laptop computers, phones and now, for some, iPads, along with the usual credit cards and cash. Many general insurances, especially
those on sale online or through supermarkets, limit liability for items when they are away from the home and it’s something to make tenants aware of when they indicate that they can get a cheap, non-specific policy online. The other huge hole in the cover provided by these policies is that they rarely provide proper cover for the tenant’s liability for accidental damage to the landlord’s property under the terms of the tenancy agreement.
going fUrtHer However, there are new specialist lettings policies now that cover tenants for more than just their own possessions. Let Insurance Services has launched a new Tenants Content insurance to encourage tenants to report problems before it is time to re-let. The cover is tailored to the needs of both landlord and tenant and premiums are very competitive within the general insurance market. With this insurance, the tenant reports
If the tenant’s home is made unsafe/ insecure; are their possessions covered?
52 OCTOBER 2010 PROPERTYdrum
accidental damage when it occurs so that repairs and replacements can be completed before the end of a tenancy. This makes for fewer delays in settling the negotiations for the return of deposits. Michael Portman, MD of Let Insurance
than the normal tenant’s contents insurance policy. They have recently launched a student sharers policy to enable a group of sharers to have one common insurance policy that covers up to ten people living in the property – provided they are all on the tenancy agreement. David Scutt, National Sales Manager at Endsleigh says, “We’ve developed the house sharer policy to be a quick and easy way for students to arrange for their possessions to be protected throughout the house. Everyone can sign up individually online and it encourages the housemates to work together, because the more people who join, the cheaper it is.” Another strong contender in the ‘extra
cover’ arena is Homelet, whose Emergency Assistance cover is provided free as standard with their contents policies. It allows the tenant to arrange for assistance directly without having to first contact the landlord/agent and then wait for them to arrange help, which is better for all parties and helps minimise disruption and damage arising from the emergency. Help is only one phone call away. The tenant only has to call the HomeLet Emergency Assistance Help line for immediate help 24/7 from qualified staff. A contractor will attend within four hours and there is no excess applicable.
DaViD sCUtt enDsleigH
The house sharer policy is a quick, easy way for students to arrange cover for all their possessions.’
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