Landlord accidental damage insurance

In the event of damage to your rental home, comprehensive cover can be beneficial. In addition, many lenders can require you to have landlord insurance before approving you for a mortgage.

Accidents can happen all too often, and as a landlord, it may be worth considering getting cover for accidental damage to your property.

Landlord accidental damage insurance can ensure you are covered for insured events listed in your policy wording, such as escape of water caused by taps being left on or red wine being spilled on the carpet by a tenant or their guest.

Landlord accidental damage insurance can offer peace of mind for landlords who want to protect their rental properties from unexpected costs due to accidental damage.

Here’s what to consider about landlord accidental damage cover, including the difference between accidental damage and malicious damage and what landlord accidental damage insurance covers.

Landlord accidental damage insurance helps protect landlords from financial losses caused by accidental damage to their rental property.

This could be from someone spilling wine on a carpet to a tenant accidentally damaging a pipe. An important distinction is that accidental damage is unintentional while malicious damage is considered to have been done deliberately.

Landlord accidental damage insurance and malicious damage by your tenants are both included as part of Just Landlords’ comprehensive Landlord Insurance.

To help ensure you have suitable cover, read your current policy thoroughly and understand the terms of the policy as well as your obligations. Your policy may be invalid if you fail to carry out repairs or maintenance.

We define accidental damage as physical damage caused suddenly and accidently, and not through wear and tear, breakdown or malfunction.

Accidental damage refers to unintentional harm or damage caused to the property or its contents by a person or an event, such as a storm. Accidental damage can happen as a result of a sudden, unforeseen, and unexpected event, and can range from minor to severe damage.

Examples of situations that may be covered by landlord accidental damage insurance include:

• spills on carpets or furniture

• damage to appliances, fixtures or fittings

• a tree falling on the property during a storm

• a pipe bursting due to freezing temperatures

• spills and stains on carpets and furniture

• broken glass

• accidental damage to appliances

• accidental damage caused by pets.

Our Landlord Insurance, for example, can provide cover for these risks and more. See our policy wording for full information.

While most accidental damage will be caused by people living in the property, landlords can also inadvertently cause accidental damage to their rental properties while performing maintenance or repairs.

It’s important for landlords and tenants to have a clear understanding of their respective responsibilities for accidental damage – which may be outlined in the rental agreement – and to have suitable insurance coverage in place to help mitigate the financial impact of accidental damage.

Accidental damage differs from malicious damage; intentional damage is damage that is caused deliberately or with malice, such as vandalism or destruction of property during a burglary.

The difference between accidental damage and malicious damage is the intent of the person causing the damage. Accidental damage is unintentional, while malicious damage is intentional. The distinction is important because insurance policies may cover accidental damage but not malicious damage, and the responsible party for paying for repairs or replacement may differ depending on the type of damage. Our Landlord Insurance covers both malicious damage and accidental damage as standard.

We provide comprehensive cover for residential landlords. Read more about the 40 covers included with our policies as standard on our dedicated Landlord Insurance page.