If you select our buildings cover, you'll automatically get equipment breakdown cover. This pays to repair or replace your property's 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, minus the £200 excess.
This cover is not a maintenance contract - it doesn't cover servicing or Gas Safety Certificates (CP12).
The rebuild cost is the total cost for materials, labour, professional fees, debris removal, and VAT (if applicable) to rebuild your property to its original condition, if it is damaged beyond use or repair. It is not the same as the market value.
A qualified surveyor can give you an accurate estimate, or you can use a third-party service. The Building Cost Information Service (BCIS Limited) is a third-party service we use to estimate your rebuild cost when you get a quote with us.
Legal expenses are optional and cover you for legal costs incurred in connection with:
If you wish, you can extend the cover to include legal expenses related to Repossessions.
We offer cover providing at least one tenant in the property is employed, retired, in full-time education, or on disability benefits at the time they signed the rental agreement with you (subject to you also meeting our other acceptance criteria).
At this time, we don't cover properties where all of the tenants are full-time unemployed and claiming unemployment benefits.
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 discuss further.
Yes, we automatically include £5000 of cover for floor coverings that have not been permanently fixed, such as tacked-down lino and carpets, in our landlord contents cover. You can increase your cover if you choose. We won't cover carpets or floor coverings for general wear and tear.
In the UK, landlord insurance doesn't cover tenants' belongings, so separate tenant contents insurance is required. It also excludes general wear and tear or damage caused by gradual deterioration over time.
Additionally, unoccupied properties may not be covered if vacant beyond a specified period unless agreed by Insurers. Or if they're covered by other insurance, such as those that are unoccupied and for sale.
Routine repairs, intentional tenant damage, property value fluctuations, pest infestations, and unrelated legal disputes are also generally excluded.
Landlord insurance can cover the cost of defending your legal rights, including repossession cover, nuisance and eviction of squatters cover, and tax protection with legal expenses optional cover.
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 1756.
Malicious Damage by Tenants is an optional cover for damage to your property inflicted deliberately by people lawfully on the premises, such as vandalism caused by your tenants and their invited visitors.
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.
Yes, we do insure unoccupied properties in certain circumstances. We understand they may be unoccupied because:
We'll need to understand your specific circumstances to confirm whether we'll be able to offer you cover. Any cover provided would be subject to the property being occupied within 60 days of unoccupancy.
If you want to insure an unoccupied property, and you meet the two requirements below, please call us on 0345 303 1763.
Yes, we do. Whether you rent out to guests via a holiday letting agreement or just let to friends and family, you can tailor your insurance to fit your needs. We can cover you for things like fire, flooding, burglary and legal liability for injuring a guest or employee.
Plus, if the worst should happen and your holiday home becomes unhabitable following an insured event and you lose rental income, having loss of rent insurance means that you can claim back this lost rental income while the property is being repaired or rebuilt.
Please give us a call on 0345 303 1763 to get a quote or for any further information.
Insurance Premium Tax is a tax payable on insurance premiums and is set by the Government.
All documents outlining premiums, such as quotations, show how much insurance premium tax you're being charged. However, not all UK residents pay the tax, such as anyone who resides in the Channel Islands or Isle of Man.
You must inform us within 30 days of your property becoming unoccupied or not actively being used by a tenant during the term of your policy. If you have previously told us it was unoccupied, you should also tell us when it becomes occupied again.
While your property is unoccupied, you need to:
You can renew your policy online. But if you want your policy to automatically renew or pay by direct debit, please call us, and we can set that up for you. We will still send you a renewal invitation at least 21 days before your policy's renewal date, so you'll have a chance to review, amend or cancel.
You can get a quote up to 30 days before you need the cover to start.
Looking to get landlord insurance?
Find out more or get a quote.
Your landlord insurance quote is valid for up to 30 days from the day you receive it.
Yes, you can, provided that the property you are insuring is in the UK and you have a nominated person or letting company in the UK that can inspect the property on your behalf. We don't insure property outside the UK.
If you're experiencing either of these problems, you can contact us via webchat or call us on 0345 303 1756.
If you're unsure of the date of your claim(s) please contact your current or previous insurance provider to find out. Or, you can enter an approximate date and then contact us to amend your claims details with the correct information.
If you are unsure what the amount of your claim(s) is please contact your current or previous insurance provider to find out. Alternatively, you can enter an approximate cost and then contact us on 0345 303 1760 to amend your claims details with the correct information. Calls may be recorded.
No, you can contact us by phone or post only. Our phone lines are open 8am - 6pm Monday to Friday, 9am to 3pm on Saturdays and Sunday closed.
Public liability provides cover against your legal liability for death or bodily injury (other than to an employee) and / or loss or damage to third party property arising out of the operation of your business.
Equipment breakdown comes as standard on our residential landlord insurance policy if you have selected landlord buildings or contents cover.
If equipment breaks down, we may pay to repair or replace it, subject to:
The equipment covered depends on which sections of cover you have selected on your policy.
For instance, if you have selected Buildings cover, 'built-in' equipment such as boilers, fitted ovens, air-conditioning systems and security/alarm systems should be covered under Equipment Breakdown.
If you have selected Contents cover, free-standing, moveable equipment such as fridges and washing machines are usually covered.
If you have selected both Buildings and Contents cover, all of these types of equipment should be covered.
Please see the policy document for the full terms and conditions.
Employers' liability insurance covers you against claims for compensation from employees following injury for which you are legally liable.
Theft by Tenant covers you if your tenants steal items from your rental property. Examples of this are theft of boilers or copper pipes.
Yes, you can.
Your individual excesses will be found in the 'Your Summary' page when you have completed the quote details or alternatively please call us on 0345 303 1756.
No, we only accept payments by direct debit and credit/debit cards. Cards that are accepted are Visa, American Express, MasterCard, Maestro, Visa Electron, and Solo card.
An Employer Reference Number, also known as an Employer PAYE Reference, is given to every business that registers with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) as an employer. Businesses that pay any Employee above the PAYE threshold are required to have an ERN, which is the reference number for their employees' income tax and national insurance contributions.
The ERN is printed or written on mandatory documents including the P45, P60, P11/D, and on most payslips. The format of the ERN is usually 999/XX99999 or 999/X99999.
Some businesses are not assigned an ERN because all employees (including labour only subcontractors, trainees and apprentices) are paid below the PAYE threshold.
If you select Employers' Liability and your business is not exempt from holding a HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) Employer Reference Number (ERN), you'll need to tell us your ERN.
We need to give Employers' Liability insurance policy details including, where appropriate, your ERN, to the Employers' Liability Tracing Office (ELTO) who will add the details to their electronic database. The database helps people who have suffered injury or disease at work in the UK quickly and easily find the insurance company which was providing Employers' Liability insurance at the time their injury or disease was sustained.
You can view, download, or print your policy document and schedule from our website.
The Employers' Liability Tracing Office (ELTO) is a service set up by the insurance industry. It helps people who have suffered injury or disease at work quickly and easily find the relevant insurance company. To do this, ELTO needs insurance companies to collect their customers' Employer Reference Number (ERN) where cover for Employers' Liability has been included. For more information, please visit www.elto.org.uk.
Yes, once you have bought your policy, we will email you within 48 hours to confirm your cover, and then your policy documents will follow on in the post. If you need us to send an email confirmation of cover urgently, please call us on 0345 303 1760 and select option 2.
We will only send you documents if you make any changes to your policy at renewal. Otherwise, your renewal schedule we send you before your renewal date will form your policy.
Direct Line for Business offers insurance solutions for a variety of businesses. Click on the product links below to see the details of the cover provided by each or find out more about our small business insurance.