Buy To Let Property Insurance

Buy-to-let property insurance, some times also known as residential property owners insurance, is needed if you own houses and/or flats to tenants – either on a short-term or long-term basis.  Ordinarily you can buy cheap buy-to-let property insurance in the event that you rent five or less properties in the UK than is the case if you rent more than five properties, as in the case of the former you are seen as a small time landlord with a small business, whereas in the latter you are seen as a full blown property-owning company.

Whether you plan to rent five or less properties, or five or more properties, is, however, a side issue, as in both cases you’ll need to ensure that you have at least the minimum level of required insurance in order to protect yourself.  Consequently, the number of properties you own will have a bearing only insofar as the insurance premiums are concerned.  That said, if you are looking to become a property owner with a letting business, then you need to ensure that you have the following minimum provisions in your insurance policy:

Fire

Insuring against any fire on the property

Natural Disaster (also known as tempest insurance)

Insuring against natural disasters that may occur, such as a storm where the winds tear off your roof or guttering

Theft

Which is especially important if you are renting out fully furnished properties.  In the event that you are renting out unfurnished premises, you may wish to have a discussion with your tenants about whether or not they should have home contents insurance

Public Liability Insurance

This should be a must as it will protect you against any claims your tenants or any third parties (such as their guests) may have for injuries they suffer while on your property

Lost Earnings

There may well be times when your property remains empty; say, for example, while you look for new tenants.  If you are relying on the rental income from your tenants to repay the money you borrowed to purchase the property, you need to ensure you have lost earnings insurance to compensate you during this period

Employee Liability Insurance

If you have employees who will visit the property for you to repair any damage, etc. or to collect the rental payments, then you need to make sure that you have employee liability insurance in case they get injured while carrying out their assigned task

Legal Expenses Insurance

As a property owner you may find the need from time to time to retain the services of a lawyer; for example, if your tenants refuse to pay their rent or move out of the property at a specified agreed time – when you may need to get an eviction notice.  As legal expenses in the UK can be expensive, you should consider insuring against this risk by having in place a provision of legal expenses in your insurance policy.

Although the above are basically the bare minimums you need in your buy-to-let property insurance policy, you can also tailor these types of insurance policies to meet your particular needs, so make sure that you talk through your circumstances with your insurance provider, especially if you anticipate expanding the business in the near future.

Why Sports Cars Cost More To Insure

Have you ever wondered why sports cars cost more to insure than other types of car – even when the purchase price of the sports car is less expensive?  If so, the following are the main reasons why this is the case.

Car Insurance Group Categories

While many of the factors that determine the make-up of car insurance quotes are not known, what is known is that insurance companies ‘group’ certain types of cars into categories.  For this purposes, insurance companies have groups ranging from 1 through to 20.  Group 1 is the least expensive type of car to insure.  Group 20 is the most expensive type of car to insure.  So, if you buy a Fiat Panda, you’ll be classed a Group 1 car driver.  Buy a sports car, any sports car, and you are looking at being classed a Group 15 and above driver.  Buy a performance sports car, such as a Porsche 911, and you’ll definitely be Group 20 driver!

Theft

Over 2 million car crimes happen in the UK each and every year.  Aside from popular model cars, such a Ford, the biggest car crime category is sports cars!  Have a soft-top convertible sports car, and the chances of it being stolen are red hot!  So, even if you live out in the countryside with no one else around for miles, you will still be seen as driving an extremely high risk car when it comes to car theft.  With increased risk, comes an increased premium!

Accidents

Insurance companies are not charities – they’re in the business to make money.  As such, they keep vast amounts of data and part of that data tells them that if you drive a sports car there is an increased risk you’ll be in an accident and that the accident will be more serious (and costly) than if you were driving a regular car.  As such, the premium charge is going to be higher.

Under 30?

Unless you have just won the Lottery, if you are under 30 there are no appealing factors when it comes to insuring a sports car.  Not only do the insurance company see the car you drive as being a high risk car to insure, but you as the driver are far more risky to insure as well.  Consequently, car insurance premiums for those 30 years of age or under, driving sports cars, is probably the highest of all types of car insurance available in the UK today.