Landlord Insurance

robbie checker

I have an apartment in Limerick City. The building is covered by the management company block insurance. I had the tenants fixtures insured by Allianz through EBS in Limerick. I had a bad tenant last year who left leaving a lot of damaged furniture, damage to doors, light fittings removed etc - total damage estimate of €1,500. I made a claim to Allianz and a loss adjuster came out but they would not cover it as they said damage carried out by tenants or persons on the premises with the permission of the tenants was not covered. When I asked what was covered, I was told that the fixtures and fitttings would be covered for fire damage and that if a tenant injured himself that this would be covered. Is this the normal for landlord insurance policies or do other policies cover damage by tenants? I think it is very sneaky to have this in an insurance policy as you would assume that damage by tenants was insured.

The_Morrigan

No insurance policy is a given, you have to read every single line of the policy including the exclusions to ensure what you need covered is in fact covered. If the policy states that damage by the tenants is not covered, then unfortunately you will have to cover the costs.

Just as an aside you mention that you had the tenants fixtures insured...do you mean the items you put in the apartment for use by the tenants or the items owned by the tenants?

Lantus

If the doors and light fittings were there when you bought the property then they can be part of the block policy however damage by a tenant wouldn't qualify as a valid claim I would imagine as those policies cover fire, flood etc.

Also, check what the excess on your block policy is in the event of significant building damage. At the low end they are 1-2k but can go to 5-10k. No one pays this, it is simply deducted from the amount the insurer gives. don't assume that the company will pay it either!! They may not have the money and if its a leak from above you can forget it as well. Even damage to the primary building fabric through fire or storm may result in no excess being covered which could result in the building not being finished to the standard you found it in.

You can get insurance to cover this excess if you need to make a claim on the block policy.

kkelliher

robbie checker wrote: »

I have an apartment in Limerick City. The building is covered by the management company block insurance. I had the tenants fixtures insured by Allianz through EBS in Limerick. I had a bad tenant last year who left leaving a lot of damaged furniture, damage to doors, light fittings removed etc - total damage estimate of €1,500. I made a claim to Allianz and a loss adjuster came out but they would not cover it as they said damage carried out by tenants or persons on the premises with the permission of the tenants was not covered. When I asked what was covered, I was told that the fixtures and fitttings would be covered for fire damage and that if a tenant injured himself that this would be covered. Is this the normal for landlord insurance policies or do other policies cover damage by tenants? I think it is very sneaky to have this in an insurance policy as you would assume that damage by tenants was insured.

You state you had tenants fixtures insured by Allianz. This is not possible as you cannot insure items you have no legal interest in.

there is no insurance policy in ireland for tenant damage. Insurance policies do not cover damage by anyone legally entitled to be on the property which in this case is a tenant.

Nothing sneaky as the policies are very clear in terms of coverage if you read the document which I assume you haven't

madmoe

Hi all,
I'll be renting my place out as an from the 1st of September and this is the first time I'll be a landlord! What I want to know is what type of landlord's insurance I should have in place? All the furniture, TV, tables and chairs, beds etc. etc. will be mine that I'm leaving in the apartment. Basically the tenants are moving into a fully furnished apartment and will bring a few bits of their own.#

Also in terms of insurance companies to ring for quotes etc. who should I be calling? I can ring Allianz as quoted above but does anyone have any other suggestions?

Thanks,
M