Dedicated insurance package for letting agents offers PI insurance as standard

Midlands based JSW Insurance Services Ltd (JSW) has introduced an expert division to the company to provide insurance specifically for landlords and letting agents - Landlordsure.co.uk – which boasts a complete insurance package designed exclusively for letting agents.

Landlordsure.co.uk for Letting Agents brings together all of the elements of insurance cover that letting agents need into one, comprehensive and market leading package. The insurance cover includes: office; professional indemnity; legal expenses; and liability cover associated with any light maintenance work.

Uniquely, the package can also provide Professional Indemnity (PI) insurance as standard. PI insurance is no longer a ‘nice to have’ for letting agents, it is an essential in the UK’s increasingly litigious market place and agents should ensure that they are fully protected.

As the package is specifically for lettings professionals, it is designed to exclude cover for surveys for mortgage lending purposes, and therefore policy holders are offered a competitive premium that does not subsidise any other risks. Nathan Walton, managing director at JSW explains: “Most professional indemnity products for estate agents and letting agents group the two professions together and provide the highest level of cover for all of the risks carried by both. However, this means that those specialists that aren’t involved in mortgage lending surveys, and who carry a lower risk as a result, are actually paying higher premiums than they should be.

“This new policy is specifically for lettings specialists, which means that the insurance cover and the policy pricing is completely appropriate and therefore very competitive.”

Office insurance is at the core of the Landlordsure.co.uk policy, covering a multitude of outlets from purpose built offices, to high street locations and home offices. Most office policies exclude liability cover for maintenance work, meaning that letting agents are not covered for such tasks as changing a light-bulb at a property, and they are certainly not covered for more substantial maintenance. Landlordsure.co.uk includes liability cover for maintenance, and additional cover should a letting agent sub-contract maintenance work, offering protection against an act of negligence by a sub-contractor.

In addition, Landlordsure.co.uk will offer members of recognised trade or professional bodies and associations, such as ARLA (The Association of Residential Letting Agents), a discount on their insurance.

Nathan continues: “We have been liaising with professional letting bodies during the development of Landlordsure.co.uk for Letting Agents, and we are extremely keen to extend this partnership approach with lettings professionals to promote responsible and professional letting practices. Agents that are members of associations such as ARLA are operating under strict guidelines, and it’s really important for us to work with these associations and with respectable agents to develop long-term relationships and provide insurance cover for them and for the landlords on their books.”

Landlordsure.co.uk’s insurance is competitive, comprehensive and straightforward, and the application process is simple and informative, supported by dedicated account managers.