Insurance for Homeowners, Landlords & Property Investors
Helping you protect your property and investment.
Property is often one of your biggest financial commitments, so having appropriate insurance in place is important.
Sheffield Estate Agents can help homeowners, landlords and property investors access a range of property insurance solutions through specialist insurance providers and brokers.
Whether you’re buying your home, letting a property, building a portfolio or renovating an investment, we can help point you towards insurance appropriate for your circumstances.
Property Insurance Services
Depending on your property and circumstances, insurance options can include:
- Buildings Insurance
- Contents Insurance
- Landlord Insurance
- Buy-to-Let Insurance
- Buildings & Contents Insurance
- Landlord Buildings Insurance
- Landlord Contents Insurance
- Property Owners’ Liability
- Loss of Rent Cover
- Rent Guarantee Insurance
- Legal Expenses Cover
- Unoccupied Property Insurance
- Renovation Property Insurance
- HMO Insurance
- Portfolio Landlord Insurance
- Commercial Property Insurance
- New Build Insurance
- Home Emergency Cover
Different properties and owners have different requirements, so it’s important to arrange cover suitable for how the property is being used.
Home Insurance
Whether you’re buying your first home or moving to a new property, you’ll usually want to consider appropriate buildings and contents insurance.
Buildings Insurance
Buildings insurance generally protects the physical structure of your property against insured risks.
Depending on the policy, this may include:
- Walls and roof
- Floors and ceilings
- Permanent fixtures
- Fitted kitchens
- Bathrooms
- Garages
- Outbuildings
Cover can vary between insurers, so always check exactly what is and isn’t included.
If you’re purchasing with a mortgage, your lender will normally require appropriate buildings insurance to be in place.
Contents Insurance
Contents insurance is designed to protect belongings inside your home.
This could include:
- Furniture
- Televisions
- Computers
- Clothing
- Electrical equipment
- Household belongings
- Personal possessions
Some policies can also provide optional cover for belongings when they’re taken outside the home.
Landlord Insurance
A normal residential home insurance policy may not provide appropriate cover when a property is rented to tenants.
Landlord insurance is specifically designed for rental properties.
Depending on the policy selected, cover may include:
- Buildings insurance
- Landlord contents
- Property owners’ liability
- Loss of rent following an insured event
- Alternative accommodation
- Accidental damage
- Malicious damage
- Legal expenses
- Home emergency assistance
If you’re letting a property, make sure your insurer knows that the property is being rented.
Rent Guarantee Insurance
One of the biggest concerns for landlords is a tenant failing to pay the rent.
Rent Guarantee Insurance can provide additional protection where an eligible tenant falls into rent arrears.
Depending on the policy and its terms, cover may include:
- Unpaid rent
- Legal costs
- Possession proceedings
- Certain tenancy-related legal expenses
Policies normally have specific eligibility requirements and conditions.
This can include requirements relating to:
- Tenant referencing
- Affordability
- Employment or income
- Credit checks
- Guarantors
- Tenancy documentation
Always check the policy terms, exclusions and maximum claim limits.
Buy-to-Let Insurance
If you’ve purchased a property specifically as an investment, a specialist buy-to-let insurance policy may be appropriate.
Cover can potentially be tailored to include:
- Buildings
- Landlord contents
- Property owners’ liability
- Loss of rent
- Legal expenses
- Accidental damage
- Malicious damage
- Home emergencies
Whether you own one rental property or a larger portfolio, appropriate insurance is an important part of protecting your investment.
HMO Insurance
Houses in Multiple Occupation can have different insurance requirements from standard single-family rental properties.
Specialist HMO insurance may provide cover designed for properties occupied by several unrelated tenants.
When requesting insurance, you should provide accurate information about:
- Number of tenants
- Number of bedrooms
- Type of tenancy
- Property use
- HMO licensing
- Property management
- Security arrangements
Incorrectly describing how a property is occupied could affect your insurance cover.
Portfolio Landlord Insurance
If you own several rental properties, managing separate insurance policies and renewal dates can become time-consuming.
Portfolio insurance may allow several properties to be covered under one arrangement.
This can be useful for landlords with:
- Multiple buy-to-let houses
- Flats and apartments
- HMOs
- Mixed residential portfolios
- Properties in different locations
The suitability of a portfolio policy will depend on your individual circumstances and the properties involved.
Unoccupied Property Insurance
Standard home or landlord insurance policies may restrict cover when a property is left empty for an extended period.
Specialist unoccupied property insurance may therefore be required.
This can be particularly relevant when:
- A property is between tenants
- You’re waiting for a property to sell
- You’re carrying out refurbishment
- You’ve inherited a vacant property
- You’re waiting for probate
- A new property purchase is awaiting occupation
- Major building work is taking place
Always tell your insurer if the occupancy status of the property changes.
Renovation & Refurbishment Insurance
Planning major refurbishment work?
A standard insurance policy may not provide sufficient cover while significant building work is taking place.
Specialist renovation insurance may be appropriate for:
- Full property refurbishments
- Extensions
- Structural alterations
- Property conversions
- Empty properties undergoing works
- Investment renovation projects
Before starting major work, check with your insurer and make sure the proposed works are properly disclosed.
Commercial Property Insurance
We can also help commercial landlords and property investors access insurance options for commercial and mixed-use property.
This could include:
- Shops
- Offices
- Industrial units
- Mixed-use buildings
- Commercial investment property
- Residential accommodation above commercial premises
Commercial properties can have very different insurance requirements depending on the building, tenant and business use.
Property Owners’ Liability
Property owners can potentially face claims if someone is injured or their property is damaged because of an issue associated with the insured property.
Property owners’ liability cover can provide protection against certain claims, subject to the terms and limits of the policy.
It is commonly included within landlord and property insurance policies, but the level of cover should always be checked.
Insurance for Property Investors
Property investors can have more complex insurance requirements, particularly when purchasing:
- Tenanted properties
- HMOs
- Auction properties
- Renovation projects
- Empty properties
- Development opportunities
- Commercial property
- Property portfolios
It’s important that the insurer understands exactly how the property is currently being used and what you intend to do with it.
For example, an empty property purchased at auction for major renovation may require very different cover from a standard tenanted buy-to-let.
Buying a Property?
Insurance is something to consider before completion, rather than after you’ve received the keys.
When buying a property:
- Check what insurance your mortgage lender requires.
- Confirm when your responsibility for insuring the property begins.
- Provide accurate information about the property.
- Tell the insurer whether the property will be owner-occupied, rented or vacant.
- Declare any planned building or renovation work.
- Check the policy excesses, exclusions and limits.
- Make sure cover is in place from the appropriate date.
Your solicitor and mortgage lender can advise you about when buildings insurance needs to start during your purchase.
Insurance for Landlords
Sheffield Estate Agents works with landlords throughout the ownership of their investment property.
Our wider property services can help with:
Buy → Insure → Let → Manage → Sell
This means landlords can speak to us about property sales, lettings, management and other property-related services in one place.
Why Choose Sheffield Estate Agents?
Property Experience
We deal with residential sales, lettings, landlords and property investors every day, so we understand that different properties require different types of protection.
Homeowners & Landlords
Whether you’re buying your own home or protecting a rental investment, we can help you access appropriate insurance options.
Investment Property Knowledge
We understand buy-to-let properties, HMOs, renovation projects, tenanted investments and property portfolios.
Specialist Insurance Providers
Where insurance advice or arrangement requires regulatory authorisation, services can be provided through appropriately authorised insurance providers or brokers.
One Place for Your Property Needs
Our growing range of property services means you can speak to Sheffield Estate Agents about much more than simply buying or selling a property.
Looking for Property Insurance?
Tell us about the property and the type of cover you’re looking for.
Useful information can include:
- Property address
- Property type
- Number of bedrooms
- Approximate year of construction
- Estimated property value
- Owner-occupied or rented
- Number and type of tenants
- Whether the property is currently vacant
- Any planned renovation work
- Type of insurance required
We can then help direct your enquiry towards an appropriate insurance solution.
