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Unbeatable Landlord Insurance

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New customers only. Cover on an equivalent basis to ours. Qualifying Criteria Apply. Terms & Conditions.

Landlord Insurance

Keeping your investments safe

Our insurance is designed specifically for landlords and buy-to-let owners, and so far more than 240,000 landlords have already taken the direct line.

Direct Line for Business Landlord Insurance offers high levels of standard cover, options to increase limits, and extend your cover if you need to. Remember that home insurance isn’t designed for rental properties – you need specialist insurance for landlords.

Our UK-based specialist claims handlers have helped thousands of landlords get their properties back into action quickly and efficiently. If you make a claim, we’ll allocate a dedicated claims handler to look after your claim from start to finish, to give that personal touch.

Our flexible cover allows you to add properties to an existing policy any time, giving you one simple renewal date and a multi-property discount.

Get a quote online
or call us on 0345 303 1763
Get a quote online call us on 0345 303 1763

What's covered?

Our insurance is designed specifically for landlords and buy-to-let owners, and so far more than 240,000 landlords have already taken the direct line.

  • Access to your own specialist claims handler should the worst happen.
  • Public Liability cover up to £2m in case a claim is made against you. Click for details on why all landlords need public liability cover.
  • We’ll pay to re-house your tenants following an insured event such as a flood or fire. (subject to policy limits)
  • 0% interest if you wish to pay by instalments in the first year to help spread the cost. (0.0% APR representative subject to eligibility, over 18's only.)
  • Multi-property discount if you insure more than one property on the same policy.
  • No administration fees for mid-term amendments

1Either buildings OR contents is standard, not both.
2Glass replacement following breakage. Replacement Locks following loss of keys (by theft or robbery) with Contents cover.

Optional extras

  • Accidental damage for Buildings and/or Contents when you've insured them.
  • Employers' Liability - protection if an employee claims against you for an injury caused while at work
  • Theft by Tenant cover

  • Saving you time with your quote

    Please ensure that the information provided by you is correct, and you comply with the statements on this page. If your circumstances change between the date you purchase the policy and the policy start date, please call us. Failure to do so may mean that your insurance policy is not valid or that we may not pay all or part of your claim(s).

    We don’t charge administration fees for mid-term changes to your policy.

    If you decide to cancel your policy during the period of insurance an administration fee for cancellation will apply amounting to 1/12th of your annual premium, up to a maximum of £50.00 (calculated at the time of cancellation, plus current rate of Insurance Premium Tax where applicable).

    The below statements are what you need to agree with for us to be able to offer you this insurance policy.

    Neither You, nor Your Directors nor Your Business partners:

    • have ever had a proposal for insurance declined or special conditions imposed by any Insurer
    • have ever been convicted of or charged (but not yet tried) with a breach of any health and safety legislation, or any other criminal offence other than parking or speeding offences or offences which are spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974
    • have been the subject of a County Court Judgement and/or ever been cited in any unsatisfied court judgements (or the Scottish equivalent) within the last 10 years
    • have been subject to bankruptcy or insolvency orders which are either outstanding or have been discharged for less than 5 years 

    You/Your business:

    • comply with all of your legal obligations as a landlord
    • do not have agreed letting periods of less than 6 months

    Important statements about your Property/Properties:

    Your property/properties:

    • are built solely of bricks, stones or concrete and roofed solely of slates, tiles, asphalts, concrete, metal or other incombustible materials other than flat roofs
    • are maintained in a good state of repair
    • are not Grade 1 Listed in England and Wales, Category A in Scotland, Grade A in Northern Ireland, or the equivalent within the Channel Islands and Isle of Man
    • are not used as holiday homes
    • are not sub-let

    Your property/properties is not occupied/let to:

    • halfway houses
    • bedsits
    • housing associations
    • Local Authorities
    • asylum seekers

    Important statements about your tenants:

    • only those individuals who have signed the tenancy agreement with you shall permanently reside at the property unless they are:
      • members of the same family
      • the partner of the tenant
      • individuals under the age of 18 for whom the tenant is the legal guardian
    • at least one of the individuals who have signed the tenancy agreement must be either employed, in full time education, retired or in receipt of a disability benefit at the point of signing the tenancy agreement.
Get a quote online
or call us on 0345 303 1763
Get a quote online call us on 0345 303 1763

Policy documents

View and download policy documents here

The following policy documents apply to policies that were bought or renewed before 12 August 2016.

The following policy documents apply to policies that were bought or renewed on or after 12 August 2016.

Legal Document Service

Included as standard when you buy or renew a policy from 1st February 2016.

Register or log in to Direct Line for Business Legal Documents Service.

Get documents

Frequently asked questions

About Landlord Insurance

  • QWhat is the Insurance Act 2015?

    The Insurance Act 2015 is a new piece of UK government legislation that becomes effective on the 12th August 2016. The purpose of this Act is to update the law in certain areas in line with best practise in the modern UK insurance market. To find out more and how it could affect you please go here: www.directlineforbusiness.co.uk/insurance-act-2015-overview

  • QDo you cover boilers?

    If you select our Buildings cover, you’ll automatically get Equipment Breakdown cover. This pays to repair or replace your boiler, irrespective of its age, if it breaks down, but excludes wear and tear. Read more about our boiler insurance cover.

    To make a claim, you need to arrange for a boiler engineer to visit your property and assess the boiler. They need to submit their report to us, so we can assess whether the claim is covered. If it is, we’ll reimburse you for the repair/replacement costs, including parts, labour and call out charges, less the £200 excess.

    This cover is not a maintenance contract – it doesn’t cover servicing or Gas Safety Certificates (CP12).

  • QWhat’s my rebuild cost and where can I find it?

    The rebuild cost is the total cost of the work needed to completely rebuild your property and put it back to the condition it was in before if it was destroyed beyond repair. It’s not the same as the market or resale value of the property.

    If you’re not sure of the rebuild cost, a calculator is available when you get a quote with us. It uses data from the Building Cost Information Service (BCIS) provided by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

    The BCIS can’t provide rebuild costs for all properties – in particular it can't provide the value for a flat - so the calculator button might not appear, or you might not see any values when you click on the button.

    If the BCIS can’t provide you with a value, you can get your rebuild cost from a qualified surveyor, your mortgage adviser or letting agent, or if you’ve recently had a property survey.

  • QWhat does Legal Expenses cover me for?

    Legal Expenses is optional, and covers you for legal costs incurred in connection with:

    • Legal defence
    • Eviction of squatters
    • Property damage
    • Contract disputes
    • Rent recovery


    If you wish, you can extend the cover to include legal expenses related to Repossessions.

  • QDo you cover properties that have DSS tenants?

    No, we don’t currently cover properties where all of the tenants are unemployed and claiming benefits. If the tenant(s) are claiming disability benefits we might be able to offer you cover.

    We can offer cover if at least one tenant in the property, who has signed the rental agreement with you, is employed, retired, in full-time education or on disability benefits (subject to you also meeting our other acceptance criteria).

  • QDo you cover HMOs (Houses in Multiple Occupation)?

    We don’t specifically exclude HMOs. We can accept some HMOs, for example, some student rental properties, whereas we can’t accept others, such as bedsits. Please call us on 0345 303 1763 to find out whether we could cover your property.

  • QAre carpets and floor coverings included in your Landlord policy?

    Yes, we automatically include £5000 of cover for floor coverings, such as linos and carpets, in our Landlord Contents cover. You can choose to increase this limit if you wish.

  • Q What if I don't have an email address?

    To get a quote online you’ll need to enter a valid email address. If you'd like help getting a quote, call us on 0345 303 1763.

  • QWhat does Malicious Damage by Tenants cover me for?

    Malicious Damage by Tenants covers you for damage to your property inflicted deliberately by people lawfully on the premises, such as tenants and their invited visitors. Examples of malicious damage are vandalism and cannabis farms. (Click here for advice on how to prevent your property being used as a cannabis farm).

  • QWhat are the exclusions on this policy?

    Please refer to the policy summary document where we detail the general exclusions. For more details please refer to your policy wording or call our customer services department on 0345 303 1756.

View more questions

Got more than one rental property?

Find out more about our multi-property insurance

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What our Landlord customers are saying

Customer reviews verified by ReevooTM

Ease of purchase
8.9

Value for money
8.6

Overall rating
8.6

Score is 8.6 out of 10 based on 11323 reviews.

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Landlord Knowledge Centre

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Direct Line insurance policies are underwritten by U K Insurance Limited, Registered office: The Wharf, Neville Street, Leeds LS1 4AZ. Registered in England and Wales No 1179980. U K Insurance Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority, registration number 202810. Calls may be recorded.

© 1999- U K Insurance Limited