Home Insurance possible if students are tennants?

Irlandski · 11-10-2010 1:22pm #1

Hi All,

I have a 2 bed apartment in a complex in Dublin. The complex is insured by the management in case of major disaster but as apartment owners we are also advised by the management to also have our own insurance in case for example we let the bath overflow into the people downstairs etc.

However, the difficulty is that none of the major players in the insurance market (Aviva, Royal Sun Alliance, Hibernian) don't want to even make a quote because it is occupied by students! This is despite the fact that the students are my own two nephews who are occupying it rent free! Quinn Insurance don't even do apartments.

Any recommendations or perhaps I need to use a broker?

Thanks in advance...

john kinsella · 11-10-2010 2:24pm

You DONT need a second policy for the buildings as the management company insure them thorugh their own policy. If you were to take out a policy for the buildings also you would have two insurers insuring the same risk. If there was a claim to be made then each insurer would pay half (or their share depending on the sums insured). This is a waste of money and pointless. You pay the management fee for a reason! your fee includes the insurance.

Their policy will cover the bricks and morter, kitchen units, timber flooring, ceilings etc. All you need to do is get a contents policy for what you own i.e beds, washing machine and tables and chairs etc. The Students should also get a policy in their individual names for their contents i.e clothes, computers etc.
If a bath overflows etc it will be covered under the block policy under an 'escape of water'

hope this helps

eagle_i · 11-10-2010 4:08pm

John Kinsella is correct, the block policy taken out by the management company covers the building and the internal common area's and the structure/pipes etc.. within your apartment with the exception of your contents, eg. carpets, beds, TV, furniture etc.. The contents of the apartment are yours, no one else has a vested interest in them, that is why they cannot be covered under the block policy.

Therefore you need to take out contents insurance, talk with a general insurance broker they will be able to put in place the appropriate policy for your needs. Sometimes dealing with the insurance companies direct is not all that easy unless you are familiar with what you want and need. It should not matter whether you are renting to students or professionals, just state it is a rental property that is the only requirement. I've let to both students and professionals in the past and had no issue with securing contents insurance for that purpose.

Just remember the contents you are covering are yours only, not your nephew's, they will need to take out their own cover for that purpose. You can only insure something you hold a vested interest in, in other words you need to own the item(s).

oldyouth · 11-10-2010 6:38pm

You need to consider 2 things. Firstly check that the Management policy is not insured on a strict 'owner occupied' basis. If it is, it needs to be amended to note tenants. This is from a public liability point of view.

Like the others said, you don't need contents insurance but an essential part of this cover is that it provides Liability cover to your tenants if a contents item causes an injury or loss. Your Management policy will not cover that. An example would be a faulty cooker exploding or a bed collapsing

Home Insurance possible if students are tennants?

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