Insurance for people who rent their homes

Your landlord will probably have buildings insurance to cover the actual building that you rent. You need to insure anything of yours that you keep in the property with a separate contents insurance policy.

The least expensive contents insurance policies protect you against financial losses if your things are damaged or destroyed by fire, theft or flood. For a slightly higher premium, you can get cover for your possessions even if they are damaged or stolen when you are outside the home. This can be especially useful for expensive items like laptops, mobile phones and jewellery.

If the home you rent is fully furnished by the landlord, then the chances are that the costs of mending or replacing any damaged items will be taken out of your deposit. You may want to take out a special tenants contents insurance policy which will protect your deposit. Shop around and you will find that these policies can be very reasonably priced.

If you share your rented property with others, some insurers offer special joint policies for tenants. This can be a cheaper option than each of you getting separate contents insurance. There are some great deals out there, but do ensure that any very valuable items you own are covered and that the maximum cover is sufficient.

You will need to give an estimate of the total value of all the things you want to insure. The higher the amount, the higher the premium, but dont say less than your things are worth or you will lose out if you need to claim.

Unfortunately for some landlords the security of their tenants possessions may not be as high a priority as you would expect, so if you have any worries about the security of your rented property then be sure to discuss this with your landlord. Rented properties can be popular with burglars who know that shared flats and houses are likely to have several laptops, mp3 players and other valuable items, and if you have Windows that do not have locks or no burglar alarm then you may find your house is an easy target for burglars.

When you move into a rented property ask the landlord about changing the locks. If the locks have not been changed, previous tenants may have copies of the keys to your home and could use them to steal your things.

Also ask your landlord about checks to gas appliances and make sure you mention any faulty or damaged electrical appliances. Insist that smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors are fitted and test them regularly.

Make sure that you keep an inventory of items that you own, with receipts if possible particularly for expensive items like computers, mp3 players and cameras.