There is a lot of focus on helping landlords better protect themselves and their property from potential claims from tenants, but the majority of renters are taking major risks when it comes to their own belongings, new research shows.
Research by Landlord Today shows that 77% of landlords have landlords insurance in place that covers them against damage to the property, but this often does not cover tenants.
In the recent flooding chaos in northern England, for example, many landlords’ properties are likely to have been insured, meaning that they could potentially get money back from damage to the building, but the tenant’s contents may not be covered, meaning that a tenant could lose all of their belongings and get nothing back.
Unfortunately, many people who rent their homes do not possess contents insurance, with research from Halifax showing that 62% of UK renters risk not being able to replace their possessions if they were damaged or stolen because they do not have contents insurance.
Young renters are especially at risk, with three quarters - 70% - of this group not having contents insurance in place.
The biggest turn off for renters is the perceived cost of cover, with 40% identifying this as the major blocker.
The next turn off is that just over a quarter - 26% - of people do not think their possessions are worth enough to insure them.
Jeremy Ward, head of home insurance at Halifax, said: “Renters can easily fall into the trap of taking out individual insurance for only their prized possessions, such as a phone and laptop, but not taking out contents insurance as they don’t see the benefit of traditional policies.
“But when the cost of these individual insurance policies is added up, people can end up spending more on several policies than on a single contents insurance policy which would cover more than just those items.”
Halifax has in conjunction with US fintech firm Trov launch a new lower-cost insurance product, Halifax Renters Insurance, which offers insurance against lower sums, an ability for users to insure individual items whenever they want, online access and management throughout, along with monthly subscriptions, allowing customers to get cover when they need it without being tied into a contract.
Ward added: “Working with Trov, we’re taking the hassle out of home insurance for renters, giving them peace of mind that their belongings are covered should the worst happen.”
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I have never taken out contents insurance, whether as a very young renter or in over 40 years as an owner occupier. I regard insurance as protection against catastrophe, loss of my home, car, third party liability etc. I have the means to replace all my furniture etc. in the event of fire, flood etc. I have probably saved over £20,000 by not having contents insurance and opting for very high voluntary excesses on home and car insurance policies. I currently pay under £500 per annum to insure 2 expensive homes, worth over£1 million and 2 cars which cost around £40k new 3 years ago. I trawl all comparison sites and some companies' own web sites and consistently under cut renewal premiums by around 25% by spending around 30 minutes online. By comparison, properties on block insurance policies seem to go up by 5% to 10% every year which I seem powerless to influence.
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