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
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).
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.
Legal Expenses are optional, and cover you for legal costs incurred in connection with:
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 find out whether we could cover your property.
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.
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 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).
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 don't look to provide long term cover for unoccupied properties but 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, we can offer a tailor-made cover to fit your needs. We can give you financial protection against things like fire, flooding, burglary and injury of a guest or employee and if the worst should happen and your holiday home can't be let, you can also cover yourself against lost rent. 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 need to inform us if your property becomes unoccupied during the term of your policy (and let us know when it becomes occupied again if you’ve previously told us that it was unoccupied).
After your property has been unoccupied for 30 days, you need to:
After your property has been unoccupied for 30 days, we won’t cover damage caused by escape of water, riot or theft.
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.
Your 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. 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 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 - 8pm Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm on Saturdays, and 10am to 4pm on Sundays.
This 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 covers electrical and mechanical equipment for breakdown. It comes as standard on our Residential Landlord insurance policy.
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.
This insures 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 of our products, or try our insurance selector by clicking on product finder which could help you to decide which of our products may suit your needs. Alternatively, you can call us on 0345 303 1756. Calls may be recorded.
