Landlords buildings insurance

Protect your property with cover designed for landlords.

Our landlords buildings insurance can help safeguard your properties against structural damage caused by risks like fires or floods, as well as accidental or malicious damage. It may also support you in providing alternative accommodation for tenants, loss of rent, and liability for claims arising from injury or loss linked to your property.

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Why choose Hiscox for landlords buildings insurance?

Comprehensive protection

Hiscox landlords buildings insurance offers a high level of protection, covering the building, fixtures, and fittings for accidental damage.

Tailored cover

Choose various add-ons, such as contents insurance, emergency call out cover, and legal expenses cover, so you can feel confident you have the protection you need.

Loss of rent cover as standard

If your property becomes uninhabitable due to insured damage, we can cover the cost of alternative accommodation for your tenant. If your tenant refuses this accommodation, we’ll cover lost rent for up to 12 months until your property is habitable again.

What is buildings insurance for landlords?

Landlords buildings insurance protects the physical structure of your rental property against loss or damage from risks such as fire, flood, or subsidence.

For example, if a flood causes significant structural damage to your property, buildings insurance could cover the cost of repairs to the affected areas.

This ensures you can restore your property and continue renting it out without bearing the full cost of repairs.

What does landlords buildings insurance cover?

Our landlords buildings insurance covers the property’s walls, roof, and any items fixed to its structure, such as drainpipes, against risks like fires, storms, and flooding.

Hiscox landlords buildings insurance covers the following as standard:

Buildings accidental damage – unintentional or unexpected damage to the main structure of your property
Subsidence – damage to your property resulting from subsidence, which is the gradual sinking of the ground supporting a building
Trace and access – locating and repairing water or oil leaks at the source
Alternative accommodation or loss of rental income – covering the rent you lose if your property becomes uninhabitable due to an insured event or the cost of rehousing tenants during repairs.

In addition, we will pay up to 30% more for elements of your buildings claim if repairs can be made in a more environmentally sustainable way.

Please refer to the policy documents for the full details of inclusions and exclusions of this cover. Policy documents are available when purchasing online. Alternatively, contact our customer services team for more information.

What isn’t included in landlords buildings insurance?

Our landlords insurance does not cover claims, losses, or investigations arising from the following:

General wear and tear – normal ageing and deterioration of the property
Negligence – damage resulting from poor maintenance or neglect
Malicious damage – intentional damages caused by the tenant or landlord
Gradually operating causes – such as rust or corrosion that occurs slowly over time.
Rot, fungus, and mould – which can be caused by moisture or other environmental factors.

How much buildings insurance do I need?

How much coverage you need varies depending on your property’s rebuild value. This is called your Buildings Sum Insured (BSI) and helps ensure adequate coverage.

We offer landlords insurance for Buildings Sum Insured up to £1 million.

You can cover up to ten rental properties under one Hiscox landlords insurance policy.

We also offer the following discounts:

1 address: no discount
2 addresses: 5% discount
3 addresses: 10% discount
4 addresses: 15% discount
5+ addresses: 20% discount

Not sure what you need?

Tell us about your landlord business – we’ll build your landlords insurance quote and help you explore any other insurance needs.

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Landlords buildings insurance: FAQs

How can I pay for landlords buildings insurance?

You can pay for Hiscox landlords insurance by direct debit monthly, on your preferred day of the month.

You can cancel your policy at any time with no administration fees.

Are contents covered in buildings insurance?

Contents are not covered by buildings insurance.

If you want to protect items such as furniture and electronics, you need contents insurance. This can be added to your landlords insurance policy.

Learn more about contents insurance.

Does buildings insurance cover roof repairs?

Whether or not roof repairs are covered depends on why they’re needed.

Buildings insurance typically covers roof repairs if the damage is caused by an insured event. For example, if your roof collapses in a storm, buildings insurance could cover the repair costs.

However, you’re considered responsible for regularly maintaining your property. So, your buildings insurance typically won’t cover general wear and tear or, for instance, replacing broken tiles due to age.

Meet our experts

“With 20 years’ experience across home and commercial property insurance, I understand that landlord customers need tailored coverage that is built specifically around the challenges and unique risks of property ownership and rental management.”

- Michael Dear, Head of Property Owners