Landlords offered pet damage insurance ahead of Renters’ Rights Bill

Landlords offered pet damage insurance ahead of Renters’ Rights Bill

0:01 AM, 8th January 2025, About 2 weeks ago 14

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A new landlord pet damage policy, called ‘Not for Lions’, has been unveiled to protect landlords’ rental properties.

The provider, Alps, says the move is in response to the upcoming Renters’ Rights Bill.

The Bill returns to Parliament next week and could be law by the summer and will give tenants the right to keep pets in rental properties.

That will see landlords not being able to refuse ‘unreasonably’ a tenant moving in with a pet.

‘An important product landlords’

The firm’s managing director, Michelle O’Reilly, said: “This is a fantastic addition to our broad range of add-on policies.

“We’re delighted to be working with Addept Insurance to bring this responsive cover to market at a time when landlords are facing increasing uncertainty.”

He adds: “It’s an important product for landlords, providing protection and peace of mind at a level affordable to most tenants.”

Richard Finan, the managing director at Addept, said: “We are delighted to partner with them, ahead of the implementation of the new Renters’ Rights Bill, to bring this exciting new product to market addressing the current protection gap for landlords in accessing dedicated pet damage cover at a cost that is affordable to tenants.”

Add-on landlord insurance products

Alps says that its landlord pet protection product offers cover with a focus on fair value, price and service.

Brokers can offer this policy as an add-on to both new and existing buildings and contents insurance.

It will cost from £120 with cover for pet damage up to an aggregate of £5,000 per period of insurance.

The insurer also offers a diverse suite of add-on landlord insurance products including home emergency, key cover and second property legal expenses.


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LL Minion

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17:02 PM, 8th January 2025, About 2 weeks ago

Reply to the comment left by DPT at 08/01/2025 - 11:29
plus by default the tenant can end/cancel the policy at any time if they are the ones taking it out...the LL will never know/has no control over this.

Paul Essex

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20:50 PM, 8th January 2025, About 2 weeks ago

There is no sign of this insurance on their website so no way to check the details. It states above that the price is FROM, so is that for a single dog - if they get a second dog does that invalidate the cover?

It seems an almost impossible task to provide real peace of mind with insurance.

Ian Narbeth

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12:39 PM, 10th January 2025, About 2 weeks ago

Reply to the comment left by JohnSnow at 08/01/2025 - 10:48"Yes the policy needs to be in the tenants name". No, no, no.
As DPT says this does not work. I wrote about this a while back: https://www.property118.com/tenants-and-pets/
From a landlord’s perspective it is not at all satisfactory for the tenant to insure for various reasons:
The landlord has no control over the insurance policy;
Diligent landlords with several properties will have to scrutinise different policies to see if they are suitable or contain unacceptable exclusions;
The policy may be invalidated if the tenant:
does not disclose material matters at inception and on renewal;
makes false statements to insurers;
breaches the terms of the policy;
fails to pay renewal premiums – perhaps to save money; or
cancels the policy without telling the landlord.
Even if a claim is successful, insurers will pay the tenant, not the landlord and a claim may be settled many months after the tenant has left. Landlords will worry that insurance proceeds never reach them.
Where a tenant fails to notify insurers promptly, claims may be refused. Some policies require notification within 30 days of damage occurring. Well-organised tenants – the sort who are responsible owners – may be timely. Others may not remember or not claim – perhaps fearing an increase in premiums – until after the tenancy ends. If insurers deny liability, the landlord may be left to claim against an impecunious tenant.
Whoever takes out insurance, it will not cover wear and tear. Paintwork or woodwork scratched by a dog will not be covered nor will extra scuffs or greasy smears on wallpaper or painted walls. Carpets, furniture and curtains will need to be replaced more frequently. Matters will be judged on the basis that the letting was to a tenant with a pet or pets so more wear and tear must be accepted.
Pet insurance may not cover the landlord for the time it takes to carry out fumigation, redecoration, repairs and reconstruction. Landlords may lose rent.
The devil as always will be in the detail and we shall need to see the policy terms including conditions and exclusions. However, a prudent landlord should never rely on a policy taken out by the tenant.

Dylan Morris

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13:50 PM, 10th January 2025, About 2 weeks ago

Reply to the comment left by Ian Narbeth at 10/01/2025 - 12:39That’s an excellent summary of the situation. Nobody has thought this through. The whole thing is unworkable. Why on earth is the Government getting involved in all of this.

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