UK Property Owners Insurance Quotes
Property Owners Insurance
One policy for the property you let or hold as an investment: buildings, loss of rent and property owners’ liability across residential, commercial, mixed-use and blocks of flats.
Why compare property owners cover here?
- Compare cover for residential, commercial and mixed-use property you own in one place
- Single lets, blocks of flats and mixed portfolios on one property owners policy
What is property owners insurance?
Property owners insurance is the umbrella buildings-and-liability cover for anyone who owns property they let out or hold as an investment rather than occupy themselves. Its defining cover is property owners' liability: the liability you carry as the owner of a building that tenants, leaseholders, visitors and the public use, for injury or damage arising from the property, its common parts, roof, boundary and the areas you retain. Alongside that liability sit buildings cover on a full rebuild basis and loss of rent if an insured event leaves a let property untenantable. One policy can hold residential lets, commercial lets, mixed-use buildings and blocks of flats together, so an owner with a varied holding insures the lot on a single schedule.
Property owners insurance is bought by the owner of a building, not the person occupying it, which is what marks it out from an occupier's own cover. A private landlord with two flats, a company holding a parade of shops with offices above, a freeholder responsible for a block of leasehold flats and a pension scheme owning an industrial unit are all property owners, and each carries liability for a building other people use. Insurers group these owner risks together under one product, so the buildings, the rent and the liability sit on a single policy.
The cover follows the ownership rather than the trade going on inside. Buildings are insured for their full rebuild cost, so an insured event such as fire, storm, escape of water, subsidence or vandalism can reinstate the structure, the common parts and the owner's fixtures. Loss of rent answers the income you lose while a let property cannot be occupied, and unoccupied or void cover holds the risk between tenancies. Where you own a mix of property types, property owners insurance sits above the whole holding in a way a single-sector policy cannot, reading as the owner-facing side of commercial property insurance that spans residential as well.
The brokers on our panel place property owner risks day in, day out. They know why buildings are insured for rebuild cost rather than market value, how occupancy and void periods change the terms, and why a freeholder recovers the premium through the service charge while leaseholders occupy. The premium is then set against the real building, its tenants and how much of it you retain, rather than a single template applied to every address.
Related property owner cover
How property owners insurance works
Describe your property
Share the property types you own, the rebuild sums, whether each is let, part-let or empty, the tenants, the postcodes and how the buildings are constructed and protected. Accurate answers bring back sharper quotes from the underwriting panel.
Compare owner quotes
Your details reach brokers who rate property owner risks every working day. They price the buildings, property owners' liability, loss of rent and common parts against your holding rather than a generic profile.
Set the policy up and stay covered
Settle on the shape that suits your holding: a single let, a block of flats you hold as freeholder, or a portfolio putting several owned properties on one schedule and renewal date, with void cover ready for the gaps between tenancies.
What property owners insurance covers
A property owners policy carries one owner across every building they let or hold as an investment, whether that is let residential, let commercial, mixed-use premises or a block of flats held by the freeholder. It joins the liability you carry as the owner of a building other people occupy to buildings cover on a rebuild basis and the rental income the property produces, so a varied holding sits under a single schedule. Cover is arranged through FCA-regulated UK brokers on the MyMoneyComparison.com panel.
Property owners' liability
The liability you carry as the owner of a building that tenants, visitors, leaseholders and the public use and pass through. It answers claims for injury or damage that arise from the property itself, the parts you retain and the areas outside any single let.
- A slate falling from the roof, a defect in a shared stairwell or a boundary wall that injures a passer-by
- Claims brought by tenants and leaseholders as well as members of the public who have no lease with you
- Covers the common parts, roof, boundary and retained areas a freeholder or investor stays responsible for
The indemnity limit is set at the outset, commonly to a standard market limit chosen for the size and use of the building.
Buildings on a rebuild basis
The structure, permanent fixtures and owner's fittings against fire, flood, storm, escape of water, subsidence, malicious damage and theft, with site clearance and professional fees. The sum insured is the cost of rebuilding the property, not its market or resale value.
Under-insurance triggers average and cuts the claimLoss of rent
If an insured event makes a let property untenantable, this replaces the rent an owner loses across the chosen indemnity period while the building is reinstated, so damage to the fabric does not also strip out the income the holding was bought to produce.
Indemnity period fixed up front, from 12 to 36 monthsCover that follows how the property is held
Unoccupied and void periods
Buildings between tenancies, part-let or standing empty run a different risk, so void cover and its conditions apply while a unit waits for the next tenant.
Common parts and owner's fixtures
Contents of shared halls, lifts and landings, plus the fixtures an owner or freeholder provides in the retained parts of a block or mixed-use building.
What property owners insurance does not cover
Every property owners policy is priced around what you declare: the property types you own, how each is occupied, the tenants, the rebuild sums and how the risk is managed. Drift outside those figures and the cover can fall away. Reading the limits matters as much as reading the cover, because under-insurance, unoccupied periods and facts left off the proposal are the three most common reasons a property owners claim is cut back or turned down.
Wear, tear and gradual damage
Loss caused by age, general deterioration, poor upkeep, a slowly operating cause, rot, damp or corrosion falls outside the policy. Keeping the fabric of a building you own in good order is the owner's job, whoever occupies it. Cover answers sudden, one-off events, not damage that builds up over months or years.
Empty longer than the agreed period
Standard wordings usually allow 30, 60 or 90 days empty before cover drops back to fire, lightning and explosion alone. Leave a let property unoccupied past that point without an unoccupied extension in place and you lose escape of water, theft, malicious damage and accidental damage protection. Between-tenancy voids are common for property owners, so agree the empty-property terms up front.
Undisclosed material facts
Listed status, past subsidence, earlier flooding, asbestos, the cladding type, the tenant mix and previous claims all have to be told to the insurer at quote and again at renewal. Under the Insurance Act 2015 a claim can be reduced or refused, and the policy voided, where those facts are misrepresented.
Under-insurance and low rebuild sums
Set the buildings sum below the real rebuild cost and the average clause bites, cutting the payout in line with the shortfall. Insure a property at 75% of its rebuild figure and each claim is met at roughly 75%. Always work to the full rebuild cost rather than the market or resale value.
Occupancy or tenant use outside scope
The policy is rated on how each property is occupied and the tenants you declared. A flat let to a single family but run as a short-let or HMO, or a unit let as an office but run as a takeaway, no longer matches that rating. Property owners need to tell the insurer as soon as the occupancy or tenant changes, above all when the new use carries more risk.
Prior flood and subsidence claims
Where a property has already claimed for flood or subsidence, insurers often strip those perils out at renewal or attach a large excess. Flood-risk postcodes can carry substantially raised excesses depending on the Environment Agency flood map zone.
What is excluded shifts from insurer to insurer and building to building. Read the wording on empty-property limits, rebuild sums, occupancy and disclosure closely before you commit. For more on higher-risk buildings, see our unoccupied commercial property insurance guide.
Property types we cover for property owners
One property owners policy is not tied to a single kind of building. It can carry let residential homes, let commercial units, mixed-use premises and whole blocks of flats, and it can hold a single property or a mixed portfolio on one schedule. That breadth, any owned building and any tenant type under one owner policy, is what sets property owners insurance apart from a single-sector product.
-
01
Let residential property
Occupied by residential tenantsHouses, flats and maisonettes let to tenants on assured shorthold or other residential tenancies, held by a private or professional landlord rather than lived in by the owner.
The owner insures the building on a rebuild basis, loss of rent and owner's liability for tenants and their visitors. -
02
Let commercial property
Occupied by business tenantsShops, offices, industrial units, warehouses and workspace let to business tenants, where the owner holds the fabric and the tenant runs the trade inside it.
The owner insures the structure, owner's fixtures, loss of rent and owner's liability across the areas the trade tenant does not hold. -
03
Mixed-use buildings
Commercial and residential in oneBuildings that combine uses, such as a shop or office with flats above, retail with living space over it, or a unit split between commercial and residential tenants.
The owner insures one building that bridges both rating bases, so the commercial floor and the flats above sit under a single policy. -
04
Blocks of flats
Freeholder insures the whole buildingA freeholder or management company insuring an entire block while leaseholders occupy the individual flats, taking in the roof, structure and shared parts nobody occupies alone.
The owner insures the whole building, common parts and owner's liability, with the premium usually recovered through the service charge.
A single property
One let home, one commercial unit or one block placed on its own schedule, sized to its rebuild cost and the way it is occupied.
A mixed portfolio
Several owned properties, residential and commercial together, consolidated on one schedule with a single renewal date instead of separate policies.
Own a mix of building types? Compare property owners insurance quotes and hold them on one schedule.
Rebuild cost versus market value for property owners.
A property owners policy pays against the cost of rebuilding each building you own, not the price it would sell for or the investment value you place on it. These are two different numbers, and insuring a let or investment property for the wrong one is the most common reason a settlement comes back smaller than an owner expects.
The building plus its land on the open market, driven by location, demand, planning, rental yield and the strength of any tenant covenants. Move the same let unit to a weaker location and it might fetch just £250,000. Neither figure has anything to do with rebuilding it, because the land an owner holds is never lost in a fire or flood.
What it would cost to demolish and reconstruct the building as it stood, at today's materials and labour rates, including site clearance, professional fees and the uplift needed to meet current building regulations.
- Building reconstruction£280,000
- Demolition and site clearance£18,000
- Professional fees£22,000
- Building regulations uplift£15,000
- Project management£10,000
- Total to insure£345,000
Insure for 70% of rebuild, get 70% of every claim.
Where a building is insured for less than its full rebuild value, the insurer applies "average" and cuts the settlement in proportion to the shortfall. Insure this unit for 70% of the correct £345,000 and the maths below applies to every claim an owner makes, not only a total loss.
Get a reinstatement cost assessment
Base the sum insured on a professional reinstatement cost assessment or RICS valuation of the building, not the purchase price, the resale figure or a rough guess.
Review it and index-link it
Revisit the figure periodically and keep it index-linked, so a rebuild value left untouched does not quietly slide into under-insurance as building costs climb.
Cover every building you hold
A portfolio owner has to get the rebuild sum right on each property, and a block-of-flats freeholder insures the whole building for one combined rebuild sum.
A shortfall on one property is enough. On a mixed portfolio, average applies building by building, so an accurate schedule for most of the holding does not rescue a claim on the one unit whose rebuild sum was left too low. A freeholder must size the combined rebuild sum for the entire block, roof and structure included, not the sum of the flats a leaseholder sees.
Getting the rebuild figure right
A formal reinstatement cost assessment typically costs £500 to £1,500, and the figure should be reviewed regularly, because building costs have been rising by as much as 7% a year and a rebuild value left untouched quietly slides into under-insurance. Compare property owners insurance quotes once you have an accurate rebuild figure for every building you own.
What impacts property owners insurance costs
Premiums on property owners cover spread wider than on almost any other property line, because the buildings and tenants differ so much. A modern block of flats with a resident management company sits in a different band to a Victorian shop with flats above, let to a takeaway in a flood-risk postcode. Knowing which factors push the price up or down helps you ask sharper questions before you buy.
Give the insurer an accurate picture of each building, how it is occupied and the tenants right at quote stage. Appetite for property owner risks varies more than in almost any other line of UK insurance. Some insurers steer clear of takeaways, short-lets, listed buildings, cladding or empty units, while others build their book around exactly those risks. Specialist brokers know which insurer suits which profile, so the same holding can come back with widely different quotes. Full disclosure points you at the right specialist rather than a declined application further down the line.
MMC Property Owners Specialists, FCA-authorised (reg. 916241)
Property type and construction
Standard brick and block rates very differently to timber frame, composite cladding, flat roofs or listed fabric. Age, build quality, sprinkler protection and the type of roof all feed straight into the underwriter's decision.
Rebuild value and sums insured
Buildings are rated first and foremost on their full rebuild cost, not on resale value. Loss of rent and the contents of common parts add on top. The higher the sums declared, the higher the premium, and above set thresholds a survey is usually called for.
Occupancy and tenant trade
A single let, a multi-let block of flats, a mixed-use building and an empty unit each rate on their own basis. The tenant use carries its own loading too: takeaways, vape shops, pubs, short-lets and HMOs sit in restricted-appetite territory that many mainstream insurers decline.
Postcode, flood zone and crime risk
Environment Agency flood zones, subsidence-prone ground, crime-heavy postcodes and closeness to past flood events all feed into the rate. In higher-risk postcodes, flood and subsidence excesses can climb steeply or those perils may be restricted.
Claims history and void periods
Earlier fire, flood, subsidence or theft claims push the premium up and can bring raised excesses or excluded perils. Loadings for unoccupied property, listed status and asbestos all come into the picture once a survey is done.
Security, alarms and fire protection
A monitored intruder alarm, BS5839 fire detection, sprinklers, BS EN standard locks, CCTV with off-site recording and up-to-date electrical certificates all bring the premium down. Well-protected buildings consistently rate below comparable unprotected ones.
Each property is rated on its own construction, occupancy, location and risk management. Compare property owners quotes to see how your buildings, their tenants and their security arrangements shape the premium across our specialist broker panel.
Choose your property owners cover level
Property owners cover is built up in layers, and most pages group those layers into three levels. Which level fits turns on whether you let the building or occupy it, the rebuild sum, the tenants and the day-to-day risk. Most UK property owners land on the Standard package, which stacks property owners' liability, loss of rent and tenant-related lines on top of the buildings core.
Buildings only
The floor for any property owner. Buildings at full rebuild value against the usual insured perils, with no liability, no rental income protection and no contents of common parts. It fits only a narrow set of cases, such as a bare freehold investment held by an experienced investor.
- Buildings at full rebuild value
- Fire, flood, storm and theft
- Property owners' liability
- Loss of rent or business interruption
- Contents of common parts or glass
Standard property owners
The realistic starting point for most property owners, from a single let to a block of flats. On top of the buildings core it adds property owners' liability, loss of rent, an accidental damage extension and glass cover. This is where the bulk of UK property owners sit, and the shape most insurers quote by default.
- Everything in Buildings Only
- Property owners' liability £2m+
- Loss of rent or business interruption
- Glass and shopfront cover
- Accidental damage extension
Comprehensive plus extras
Built for established owners carrying more exposure. On top of Standard it brings engineering inspection, terrorism, legal expenses and contents of common parts cover. It suits multi-tenant blocks of flats, mixed-use parades, listed buildings and larger mixed portfolios.
- Everything in Standard
- Contents of common parts cover
- Engineering inspection
- Terrorism cover via Pool Re
- Legal expenses and tenant disputes
| Cover feature | Buildings | Standard | Comprehensive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buildings at full rebuild value | |||
| Fire, flood, storm and theft | |||
| Property owners' liability | |||
| Loss of rent or business interruption | |||
| Glass and shopfront cover | |||
| Accidental damage extension | |||
| Contents of common parts | |||
| Engineering inspection (LOLER/PUWER) | |||
| Terrorism cover via Pool Re | |||
| Legal expenses and tenant disputes |
What sits in each package, and which extras are optional, differs between insurers. Compare property owners quotes to see what each level includes for your property type, occupancy and tenant profile.
How much does property owners insurance cost?
A property owners premium turns on the buildings you own, who occupies them and how the holding is spread, so it moves more than almost any other property cover. Rather than quote figures that would not match your own portfolio, the guide below shows the profiles that sit at the lower, middle and higher end and what pushes a premium up or down.
A property owners premium is built from the rebuild sum insured on each building, the property type and construction, who occupies it and the trade or tenancy, the location and flood or subsidence exposure, any void or unoccupied history, the property owners' liability limit and the loss of rent indemnity period. A single let property in standard construction sits at the lower end. A larger, mixed-use or multi-let building sits in the middle. Blocks of flats, unoccupied property, higher-risk occupancy and mixed portfolios sit at the higher end and are individually underwritten. Every premium is set to the properties, so comparing the whole broker panel is how a property owner finds the right price.
One standard building
where most single-property owners sit
A single house, flat, shop or unit let to one tenant, in standard construction, a mainstream occupancy, a low-risk postcode and a clean claims history. Buildings on a rebuild basis, property owners' liability and loss of rent.
Premium moves with- Rebuild sum insured and property type
- Occupancy and tenancy
- Postcode, security and claims history
Larger or mixed building
larger or mixed holdings, more moving parts
A mixed-use building with flats above, a larger multi-let property, or two or three properties held together. Cover carries property owners' liability, loss of rent over a longer indemnity period and the extensions a multi-occupancy building needs.
Premium moves with- Construction type and roof type
- Occupancy mix and tenancy
- Loss of rent indemnity period
Blocks or higher-risk portfolio
individually underwritten by specialist insurers
Blocks of flats insured by a freeholder, unoccupied property between tenancies, listed buildings, higher-risk occupancy such as an HMO, and mixed residential and commercial portfolios. These are case-rated by specialist insurers against the whole holding rather than a standard table.
Premium moves with- Void period and inspection regime
- Block size and common parts
- Flood zone, prior claims and portfolio spread
A Standard property owners policy insures the buildings at full rebuild value, property owners' liability and loss of rent, with the perils a let building needs. Unoccupied property sits higher up the scale because theft, malicious damage and escape of water all rise while a building is empty, so honest occupancy declaration and the void conditions matter. Blocks of flats, listed buildings, property under renovation and higher-risk occupancy usually need a specialist insurer and bespoke terms. A mixed portfolio of residential and commercial property is case-rated against the combined holding rather than priced from a table, and a freeholder recovers the premium from leaseholders through the service charge.
Important: This page describes what drives a property owners premium rather than quoting figures, because a premium can only be set against your own buildings, occupancy and portfolio. Nothing here is a quotation or an offer of insurance. Actual premiums vary by rebuild value, property type, construction, occupancy, tenancy, postcode, claims history and insurer, so always compare several quotes before you buy. MyMoneyComparison.com Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FCA registration number 916241.
Premiums are individually quoted. Compare property owners insurance quotes to see what your specific buildings, occupancy and portfolio price at across the MyMoneyComparison.com broker panel.
When property owners claims get paid, and when they get declined or reduced
The large majority of property owners claims settle without a fuss. Where one is cut back or turned down, the cause sits on a short and familiar list: the building was insured below its full rebuild figure, the property stood empty longer than the schedule allowed, a material fact was never mentioned, or a tenant was occupying in a way the policy never recorded. Whether you collect the full amount or a reduced one is, in practice, settled at the quote stage rather than on the day of the loss.
| Scenario | When the claim is paid in full | When the claim is reduced or declined |
|---|---|---|
| Fire damage to a let property | Paid The building is insured at its current full rebuild figure, the occupancy matches what the schedule records, electrical and fire risk assessments are in date, and loss of rent is set to a sensible indemnity period. | Reduced Where the rebuild figure falls short of the real cost, the average clause bites and the payout is scaled back. A tenant occupying in a way never declared (a short-let or takeaway, say) can remove cover altogether. |
| Escape of water from internal plumbing | Paid The property is occupied, or still inside the unoccupancy window the schedule permits, the pipework has been kept in reasonable order, the loss is reported quickly, and the cause is a sudden burst rather than a slow, long-running leak. | Declined Once the property has stood empty past the 30, 60 or 90 day limit, escape of water usually drops back to FLEX perils only. A gradual seep is treated as wear and tear, and neglected plumbing spotted during assessment counts against the claim. |
| Storm damage to roof or external structure | Paid The loss follows a genuine storm backed by wind speed and rainfall records, the building was sound beforehand, and the proportion of flat roof was declared correctly. | Declined Roof already in poor repair is put down to wear and tear, an undeclared flat roof sits outside the cover, or the weather on the day never reached the wind speed the storm definition requires. |
| Malicious damage caused by an outgoing tenant | Paid Malicious damage by tenants is endorsed onto the policy, the harm is plainly deliberate rather than everyday wear, and a police crime reference was logged when the damage came to light. | Declined The base policy carries no malicious damage endorsement, the damage is recategorised as fair wear and tear, or it is pushed back to the tenant deposit and the lease dilapidation terms instead. |
| Subsidence cracking to walls or foundations | Paid Subsidence sits on the policy, no earlier subsidence was declared at quote, a structural engineer's report pins down the cause, and drainage and nearby trees have been kept in reasonable check. | Declined Earlier subsidence went undeclared at quote (an Insurance Act 2015 breach), subsidence was struck off entirely at renewal after a previous claim, or the movement is judged to be settlement rather than subsidence. |
| Visitor injured by a falling tile or trip hazard | Paid Property owners' liability of £2m or more is on the policy, building upkeep is documented, no earlier warning about the same hazard was left unaddressed, and reasonable care was taken over the common parts. | Declined Property owners' liability was left off at quote, the hazard had been flagged before and ignored, or the injury ties back to a tenant's business activity that belongs on the tenant's own liability cover. |
A reduced or refused property owners claim nearly always comes down to one of four things: a rebuild figure set too low so the average clause applies, an unoccupied period running past the declared limit, a material fact left out (earlier subsidence, listed status, a change of occupancy or tenant), or a cover line simply not chosen at quote. At claim stage, loss adjusters commonly ask for rebuild valuations, a void timeline, the original declaration and the tenancy agreements, checking the schedule lines up with the property as it really is.
Specialist property owners brokers build these outcomes into the cover before anything goes wrong. Compare property owners insurance quotes to see what sits in the policy as standard and what has to be endorsed for your own buildings and tenants.
How to prepare for a property owners insurance quote
A specialist broker can rate the property you own and let only when the underwriting picture is right from the outset. Spend ten minutes pulling together the property paperwork, rebuild figures, occupancy and tenant details before you open the form, and you get sharper quotes, far fewer follow-up calls, and stronger terms across the specialist panel, whether you own one let flat, a mixed portfolio or a block of flats.
Pull together property records and rebuild figures
Underwriters rate each owned building on its rebuild cost first and its occupancy second, so have the property records to hand before you begin.
- Address, year built and how each property is built
- Rebuild (reinstatement) figure, not market value
- Floor area, number of storeys and units or flats
- Listed status, share of flat roof, any asbestos
Be clear on occupancy and who occupies each property
Rating follows the real occupancy of each let, the type of tenant and any void periods, not a one-size template.
- Residential let, commercial let, mixed-use or block
- Let, part-let, between tenancies or unoccupied
- Yearly rent roll and loss of rent indemnity
- Freeholder or leaseholder status and past claims
Compare and talk to a specialist
Fill it in once and get matched with brokers who underwrite owned and let property day in, day out.
- Quotes from FCA-regulated specialist brokers
- Residential, commercial, mixed-use and blocks
- Property owners' liability and loss of rent
- One form, several quotes matched to your property
Specialist and high-risk owned property cover
Not every building an owner lets fits inside a mainstream insurer's appetite. Listed and period property, flood-zone postcodes, sites with a history of subsidence, unoccupied property, blocks of flats, and anything built with asbestos, cladding or a non-standard method all fall outside the standard book. Open any heading below to see how specialist underwriting handles the eight kinds of higher-risk owned property UK landlords and freeholders raise most often.
Listed buildings and period property
Grade I, Grade II* and Grade II listing brings conservation duties that push the rebuild cost of a let building well above the norm. Putting the building back like for like calls for period materials, heritage trades and sign-off from a conservation officer, which can take the rebuild figure to somewhere between 1.5 and 3 times the rate for the equivalent modern build.
Insurers who specialise in listed property rate for that conservation-grade reinstatement, the longer claims timeline and the red tape of restoring a protected structure. Mainstream property insurers tend to either decline or load the terms. See our listed building property insurance guide for specialist cover.
Flood-risk postcodes and EA flood zones
Sitting in an Environment Agency Flood Zone 2 (medium risk) or Flood Zone 3 (high risk) postcode routinely brings raised flood excesses of £2,500 to £25,000, and some insurers leave flood off the policy altogether. A building with earlier flood claims meets the tightest restrictions of all.
Specialist flood underwriters, along with the commercial-property counterparts to the Flood Re scheme, mean cover can usually be found, though at markedly higher rates and with surveyor-led improvements attached. Resilience work such as raised electrics, flood barriers and dry-flood-proofing can bring excesses down and open up cover that would otherwise be refused.
Subsidence history and clay soil postcodes
A previous subsidence claim, a clay-soil postcode (parts of the South East and South West especially), or mature trees standing close enough to affect the foundations will all draw underwriting restrictions. After a prior claim, subsidence is frequently dropped from the cover at renewal.
Specialist insurers can still take on subsidence where the movement has been stabilised, engineering reports back up the cause, and monitoring stays in place. Mainstream insurers usually apply a blanket subsidence exclusion once there is any claim history.
Unoccupied and between-tenancy property
Most standard policies allow 30, 60 or 90 days of vacancy before cover falls back to FLEX (fire, lightning, explosion) only. Left empty beyond that without dedicated unoccupied cover, a let property loses escape of water, theft, malicious damage and accidental damage completely, and that is exactly when most void-period claims happen.
Specialist unoccupied underwriters write dedicated void policies sized to the reason for the empty period, whether between tenants, mid-refurbishment, awaiting sale or in probate. They ask for documented inspections, the water system drained down and security in place. See our unoccupied property insurance guide.
Blocks of flats and freeholder cover
A freeholder or residents' management company insures the whole block, the structure, the common parts, the roof and the retained areas, while leaseholders occupy the individual flats. The head lease almost always requires this buildings cover, and the premium is recovered from leaseholders through the service charge. Property owners' liability for the communal stairs, lifts, grounds and boundary is central to the policy.
Blocks need a single rebuild sum for the whole building, not flat by flat, and higher-rise or mixed-tenure blocks draw closer underwriting. Specialist block-of-flats insurers rate the number of flats, the height, any commercial unit on the ground floor and the fire strategy, where a general home or single-unit policy simply does not fit.
Asbestos, cladding and composite construction
Where a pre-2000 building used asbestos in its roofing, insulation or partition walls, the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 bring management duties with them. Insurers want an asbestos survey, a management plan, and notice of any disturbance to that material during repair work.
Composite-clad buildings, above all those with combustible aluminium composite material (ACM) or insulated panels, have been underwritten far more tightly since 2017, and some insurers rule out ACM-clad buildings outright. Specialist cover is still available where fire risk assessments, certification of the cladding type and a remediation plan are all in place.
Flat roof and unusual construction
Once more than 25% to 30% of the roof is flat, insurers routinely add excesses or pare back parts of the cover. Flat roofs carry a higher escape of water and storm exposure, so insurers look for recent inspection reports and a documented upkeep routine.
Timber-frame, steel-frame, prefabricated and other non-standard builds call for specialist underwriting too. The building's age, the quality of the original work and its present condition all feed the rating, and a surveyor's inspection is often needed above set rebuild-value thresholds.
Prior claims history and higher-risk occupancy
Two or more property claims in the past five years, a higher-risk occupancy (an HMO or bedsits, benefit or student tenants, a commercial tenant in a fire-loaded trade), or a history of fire, arson or escape of water will usually put a let building beyond mainstream appetite.
Specialist insurers assess these one at a time rather than off a standard rating table. Expect surveyor inspections, risk-improvement conditions, higher excesses and a narrower list of perils. Being straight about claims and occupancy at quote stage matters, because the Insurance Act 2015 makes an undisclosed material fact grounds to void the policy.
Every higher-risk building falls into its own specialist bracket. Compare property owners insurance quotes to see how your own property, occupancy and risk profile are rated across the MyMoneyComparison.com broker panel.
Who needs property owners insurance?
Property owners insurance is bought by the owner of a building that other people use, not by the occupier. From a single let flat to a mixed holding of shops and offices, each owner type carries the same core exposure in a different shape, so the cover is matched to who is insured and what they own.
Private and professional landlords
Owners letting residential flats and houses, or commercial units such as shops and offices, to tenants who occupy and trade or live in the building. The owner keeps responsibility for the structure, the roof and the areas tenants share.
Property investors
Owners buying to build a holding and hold it for income and growth, often adding property over time. Cover has to keep pace as the schedule grows, with the sum insured reviewed on a rebuild basis and gaps closed between purchases and lettings.
Freeholders and management companies
Freeholders and residents' management companies insuring a whole block of flats, its structure and its common parts, while leaseholders occupy the individual homes. The premium is usually recovered from residents through the service charge under the head lease.
Portfolio owners
Owners of several properties, often a mix of residential and commercial, who want the lot on one policy with a combined schedule and a single renewal date. A property owners policy spans the varied holding rather than splitting it across separate single-sector covers.
Pension, SIPP and SSAS property owners
Commercial property held inside a pension scheme, a SIPP or a SSAS, where the scheme or its trustees are the legal owner and a tenant occupies. Getting the insured party right on the schedule matters, because the scheme, not the occupier, holds the buildings and liability exposure.
Companies and SPVs that own property
Limited companies and single purpose vehicles set up to hold property as an asset, where the entity rather than an individual is the owner on the deeds. The policyholder needs to match the owning company exactly, so a claim pays the party that actually holds the building.
Owner, not occupier. Whichever of these you are, the policy is built around the party named as owner, the rebuild sum insured, and the liability you carry for a building other people use. Compare cover matched to how yours is owned and let.
Compare property owners insurance quotesProperty owners insurance vs the narrower alternatives
Two questions decide the cover you need. First, do you let or hold the building, or do you live and trade in it yourself? Second, if you are the owner, does your holding sit inside one single-sector policy, or does it span property types that only the wider property owners policy pulls together? Get either answer wrong and the schedule leaves a hole exactly where a claim lands.
Property owner or owner-occupier?
The same building needs a different policy depending on who occupies it. A property owner insures a building other people use; an owner-occupier insures the trade or home carried on inside their own walls.
What this owner insures
- Property owners' liability for injury or damage arising from the building, common parts, roof and boundary they retain.
- Buildings on a rebuild (reinstatement) basis, not the market or resale value.
- Loss of rent if an insured event makes a let property untenantable.
- Cover through void and between-tenancy periods, when the building sits empty.
What this owner insures
- Contents and stock kept and used inside the premises they occupy.
- Their own trade's business interruption, protecting trading income during a rebuild rather than lost rent.
- Their own public and employers' liability for the activity they carry on.
- No tenant and no lease in place, so loss of rent does not apply.
One umbrella, or a single sector?
If you own property to let, the next question is reach. Property owners insurance is the umbrella that spans every let across your holding on one owner policy. The single-sector alternatives each cover a slice, so a mixed holding forced into one of them leaves the rest exposed. The four columns below are the property types a property owner might hold.
Insure a let building on an owner-occupier policy and there is no property owners' liability and no loss of rent, so a tenant's injury claim or an empty rebuild period is uninsured. Force a mixed portfolio of residential and commercial lets into a single-sector policy and the property types it does not name fall outside cover, with the gap only surfacing at a claim. A property owner with a mixed holding is the case the umbrella property owners policy is built for.
Not sure which fits your holding? It turns on whether you let the building or occupy it, and whether your portfolio sits in one sector or spans several. Compare property owners insurance quotes and match the policy to what you actually own.
Cover shown is indicative of how UK property policies are typically structured and is illustrative only, not a quotation. Sums insured, liability limits and exclusions vary by insurer and individual circumstances.
Property owners portfolio insurance
Once an owner holds two or more let properties, possibly a mix of residential flats, commercial units and mixed-use buildings, single-property policies stop being a tidy fit. Portfolio cover draws every owned property onto one schedule, with a single renewal date and one underwriting relationship, and prices the book against the combined risk rather than as a stack of separate policies bought at different times.
Property owners portfolio insurance puts two or more owned properties on one schedule with a single renewal date and shared limits, led by property owners' liability. It works for private and professional landlords, property investors, freeholders, SPV (special purpose vehicle) limited companies, and mixed books that combine residential lets, commercial lets, mixed-use and blocks of flats. Premiums are case-rated against the combined risk profile, the claims record and the occupancy mix, which usually lands on better terms than buying each policy on its own.
One schedule, one renewal date
Every owned property sits on a single schedule that renews on one date. Gone is the juggling of separate policies taken out at different times with different insurers, each running to its own renewal.
SPV, company and personal ownership
Where a portfolio is held through an SPV (special purpose vehicle) limited company, a pension scheme or in personal names, the policy needs to be issued in the correct owner name, with directors and beneficial owners named at quote stage. See our property portfolio insurance guide.
Mixed property type portfolios
Residential lets, commercial units, mixed-use buildings, blocks of flats and empty property can share the same schedule. The cover copes with the different property types and occupancy bases without splitting each onto its own policy.
Case-rated pricing
A portfolio is rated on its combined risk, not pulled off a standard table. Insurers weigh total rebuild values, the spread of property types and occupancy, the claims record and geography to set one premium for the whole schedule.
Shared limits and aggregate cover
Property owners' liability, loss of rent and accidental damage tend to run on limits shared across the portfolio rather than fixed per property. That generally buys higher headline limits for less than the sum of separate policies.
Adding and removing properties mid-term
You can add or drop owned properties partway through the year, with the premium adjusted pro rata. A new purchase joins the schedule on completion and a sale comes off on the day, with no wait for renewal and no separate short-term policy.
Any owner holding two or more let properties stands to gain from portfolio cover. Compare property portfolio insurance quotes through a specialist panel used to SPV, mixed-use, blocks of flats and multi-property risks.
How to reduce property owners insurance costs
Property owners insurance is rarely cheap, but a handful of practical moves genuinely bring the premium down without thinning out the buildings cover, property owners' liability or loss of rent. Combine two or three of them and the saving across an annual policy or a portfolio renewal can be real, whether you own one let property or a mixed book.
Fit alarms, CCTV and fire detection
A monitored intruder alarm to BS EN standards, BS5839 fire detection and CCTV recorded off site all cut theft, vandalism and fire exposure in property you let. Recognised security and fire systems feed straight into the rate insurers offer.
Reference tenants and document tenancies
Recorded tenant referencing, credit checks and signed tenancy agreements or leases give underwriters confidence in who occupies each let, whether residential, commercial or a flat in a block. A solid occupancy record noticeably improves terms across the specialist panel.
Keep maintenance and inspections on record
Regular roof checks, cleared gutters, plumbing inspections and prompt repairs to the structure and common parts hold down escape of water and storm claims. Insurers routinely ask to see a documented upkeep routine at quote and at renewal.
Keep electrical and gas certificates current
An in-date EICR electrical installation condition report, gas safety certificates and, in residential lets, current safety checks show fire and safety risk in your property is being actively managed. Many insurers want certificates no more than five years old as a baseline.
Run a vacant property inspection routine
Weekly or fortnightly recorded inspections while a property sits empty between tenancies, plus a drained-down water system, collected post and visible security, all cut the exposure during a void. An active inspection routine can open up cover that would otherwise be refused.
Use a specialist property owners broker
Generic comparison sites struggle here because insurer appetite swings so widely by property type, occupancy and tenant. Specialist brokers work this market every day and rate residential, commercial, mixed-use and blocks of flats properly across niche insurers and Lloyd's syndicates.
The biggest savings come from stacking two or three of these together rather than relying on one. Compare property owners insurance quotes to see what your own property, occupancy and risk management add up to across the specialist panel.
Specialist Property Owners Insurance
Comparing specialist property owners insurance since 2013
MyMoneyComparison.com has been helping UK property owners find cover without the runaround since 2013. Let a single residential flat, own a parade of commercial units, run a mixed-use building with a shop below and homes above, act as freeholder for a block of flats, or hold a mixed portfolio of let property, and the same specialist broker panel underwrites owned property every day. Compare specialist property owners insurance, led by property owners' liability, from a panel that knows rebuild value, loss of rent, void periods and the full spread of residential, commercial, mixed-use and block-of-flats risks under one owner policy.
Generic comparison sites versus specialist property owners brokers
Standard comparison sites are built around home insurance and simple cover for one occupier. Property owners insurance sits outside that profile: it spans residential lets, commercial lets, mixed-use and blocks of flats under one owner policy, led by property owners' liability. Specialist brokers repeatedly rate the same risk more keenly and with cover that answers occupancy, void periods, loss of rent, freeholder duties and the underwriting realities mainstream insurers wrestle with.
Standard home and commercial aggregators
Geared to home insurance and basic SME cover. Property you own and let is usually treated as a non-standard risk, then either turned away or priced at the loaded end of the panel without the underwriting picture being understood.
Typical limitations- Few or no property owners options
- Property owners' liability handled poorly
- Unoccupied and between-tenancy property turned away
- Blocks of flats and freeholder cover left out
- Mixed portfolios and mixed-use beyond the panel
Specialist property owners brokers and underwriters
FCA-regulated brokers who underwrite owned and let property day in, day out. Property owners' liability, buildings on a rebuild basis, loss of rent, void cover and freeholder extensions are on the policy from the start, sized to the property and occupancy you declare.
Built around property owners- Residential lets, commercial lets and mixed-use
- Unoccupied, between-tenancy and part-let property
- Property owners' liability and loss of rent
- Blocks of flats, freeholders and management companies
- Mixed portfolios on one property owners policy
A quote from a generic comparison site can look sharp yet leave out the cover lines property owners actually need. Buy it and you may end up with the rebuild value misjudged, a void running past the declared cap, the occupancy misdescribed, or property owners' liability absent from the schedule, and that is precisely the pattern that leads to reduced or refused claims under the average clause and the Insurance Act 2015. Before you pay, check the schedule matches the property, occupancy and tenants you genuinely have.
Compare property owners insurance quotes with some of the UK's top providers, including:
Everything You Need to Know
Clear answers to the questions property owners ask most often about property owners insurance.
What is property owners insurance?
Property owners insurance is the umbrella buildings-and-liability cover bought by the owner of let or investment property rather than the person occupying it. Its defining section is property owners’ liability, the liability you carry as owner of a building other people use, and it sits over buildings insured on a rebuild basis with loss of rent alongside. One policy can hold residential lets, commercial lets, mixed-use buildings and blocks of flats together, so an owner with a varied holding insures the lot under a single contract. Optional sections widen it to cover contents of common parts, owner’s fixtures, fixed glass, terrorism through Pool Re and engineering inspection where lifts or plant are on site.
Is property owners insurance a legal requirement?
No general law forces a property owner to insure, but the obligation usually arrives through the agreements you hold as owner. A mortgage or commercial loan almost always requires buildings insurance as a condition of lending, a lease commonly makes the owner responsible for insuring the structure, and a block’s head lease obliges the freeholder to keep the building insured for the leaseholders. Property owners’ liability is the practical driver too: as the owner of a building tenants, leaseholders and the public rely on, you are exposed to injury and damage claims arising from the property, and this cover answers them.
How much does property owners insurance cost?
There is no flat figure, because a property owner’s premium is built from the particular holding being insured. The rebuild sum insured across your buildings carries the most weight, then the mix of property types on the policy, whether each is a residential let, a commercial let, mixed-use or a block of flats, the occupancy and any void periods, tenant trades where premises are commercial, claims history and the flood or subsidence exposure at each postcode. Property owners’ liability limits, listed status and the spread of a portfolio move it as well. Owners tend to pay less when sums insured are accurate, security and maintenance are kept up, void periods are managed and a whole portfolio is placed on one schedule, and the sound way to gauge cost is to compare quotes from FCA-regulated brokers against your own property details.
Is rebuild value the same as market value?
They are two different numbers, and property owners insure on the rebuild figure every time. Rebuild value is what it would take to clear the site and reconstruct the building at current prices, taking in materials, labour, architect and surveyor fees and any work needed to meet current building regulations. Market value is only the price the property and the land under it would fetch on a sale, and for a let building that price reflects the tenants and income as much as the bricks. Insurers work from rebuild cost because a fire or flood destroys the structure an owner has to replace but never the ground it stands on.
What is property owners' liability?
Property owners’ liability is the cover the product is named for: the liability you hold as owner of a building that other people occupy and use. It meets compensation and legal defence costs when the property injures a third party or damages their belongings, for instance a visitor hurt by falling masonry, a leaseholder’s goods spoiled by a structural fault, or someone harmed in the common parts, roof, boundary or other areas the owner retains. Indemnity limits are commonly written at £2m, £5m or £10m. Every owner of let property carries this exposure whoever occupies the building, which is why it anchors a property owners policy.
What happens during void and unoccupied periods?
A let building that empties out changes the risk an owner carries, and property owners wordings react to that. After a set spell without occupation, commonly 30, 60 or 90 days, cover on that property falls back to fire, lightning and explosion (FLEX) alone. Holding fuller protection through a longer void, between tenancies or while a unit is being re-let, needs the unoccupied conditions met: regular recorded inspections, draining down or isolating the water supply, clearing post from letterboxes and keeping agreed security in place. For an owner with several properties this is managed unit by unit, since one address standing empty does not disturb cover on the tenanted rest of the schedule.
Is loss of rent included, and what is the indemnity period?
Loss of rent is a core section of property owners cover, because rental income is what an owner stands to lose when an insured event makes a let property untenantable. It runs for a chosen indemnity period, typically 12, 24 or 36 months, and pays the rent that would have come in while the building is repaired and re-let. Set the figure on the full annual rent roll across the let property and allow for how long reconstruction and finding new tenants might realistically take, not merely the building time. A Buildings Only policy tends to leave it out, so check it is present where the property depends on its rent.
Does property owners insurance cover flood damage?
Flooding is the peril that most often forces a property owner to a specialist market. On a building in a settled, low-risk postcode it usually rides inside the standard perils at no extra cost. Push the address into an Environment Agency Flood Zone 2, or the more exposed Flood Zone 3, and an insurer will answer by loading the flood excess steeply, sometimes into five figures, and now and then by carving the peril out altogether. That is the point at which a broker earns its keep: dedicated flood underwriters, several drawing on the Flood Re framework where a property qualifies, will often still quote terms so the building stays insured and the letting income holds up.
Is subsidence covered?
Subsidence turns on the ground history of the building. With no record of movement it normally travels inside the standard perils on a property owners policy. Once a property has claimed for subsidence, mainstream insurers tend to shy away and may drop the peril at the next renewal, leaving the owner exposed on the very risk most likely to recur. Specialist structural-movement insurers fill that space: with the cause diagnosed by an engineer, any underpinning or stabilisation signed off and a crack-monitoring regime in place, they will take the building on so it stays insured and lettable while the ground finds its level.
Can I insure a listed building that I let out?
Yes, though a listed let building calls for a specialist policy rather than an off-the-shelf one. Reinstatement has to be priced on a like-for-like conservation basis, using period-appropriate materials and heritage trades, which is why the rebuild figure for an owner commonly lands at around 1.5 to 3 times the cost of an equivalent modern structure. Property owners’ liability still applies to the parts tenants and the public use, and standard insurers tend either to decline listed stock or to attach heavily restricted terms, so a specialist route is the reliable one.
How does property owners insurance work for a block of flats?
For a block of flats the freeholder or management company insures the building and the common parts as owner, while the leaseholders occupy the individual flats. A property owners policy covers the structure on a rebuild basis, property owners’ liability for the shared halls, stairs, lifts, roof and grounds, and loss of rent or ground rent where relevant. The premium is then recovered from the leaseholders through the service charge, which is why the sum insured and the cover need to be right for the whole building rather than any single flat. Leaseholders usually arrange their own contents cover separately.
Can I put a mixed property portfolio on one policy?
Yes, and consolidating is one of the main reasons owners choose property owners insurance. Several owned properties, whether residential lets, commercial units, mixed-use buildings or a block of flats, can sit on a single policy with a combined schedule listing each address and its own sum insured. One renewal date, one liability limit across the holding and one point of contact replace a drawer of separate certificates. Properties can be added or removed as the portfolio changes, and an owner holding through a company or SPV is written in that name.
Can I insure a mixed-use property?
Yes. A property owners policy can wrap around a building that mixes trade and living space, such as a flat over a shop, a retail unit with dwellings above or a live-work arrangement, all under the one owner. Because two rating approaches are in play at once, underwriters weigh the proportion of commercial to residential floor area and take account of the trades operating below and the occupants living above. Property owners’ liability runs across the whole building, covering the owner for the shared entrances, stairs and structure that both sides of the property rely on.
Do I need terrorism insurance?
Terrorism cover is not built into a property owners policy by default; an owner buys it as a separately rated extension backed by Pool Re, the government-supported reinsurance scheme. Some lenders make it a condition of financing a building, and take-up is higher for city-centre blocks, hospitality and busy retail sites. For an owner the question turns on each property’s location, any lender or head-lease requirement and your own reading of the exposure across the holding, and it can be applied to selected addresses on a portfolio rather than all of them.
Can I insure property let as an HMO or to higher-risk occupants?
Yes, though occupancy is central to how a property owners risk is rated. A house in multiple occupation, student or bedsit lets, benefit tenants, short-term or holiday letting and commercial units let to higher-risk trades all move a building outside standard appetite. Owners of this stock are asked for tighter conditions: working fire detection and alarms, HMO licensing where it applies, portable appliance and electrical checks and a maintenance regime. Plenty of mainstream insurers decline it, while specialist property owners underwriters take it on, often subject to a survey and a list of risk improvements.
Can residential and commercial lets sit under one policy?
They can, and that breadth is what marks property owners insurance out from a single-sector policy. An owner can hold a residential let, a shop or office let to a business, a mixed-use building and a block of flats on the same contract, each rated on its own basis but reported on one schedule. Property owners’ liability runs across the whole holding whatever the tenant type, residential or commercial. This is the span, any owned property and any occupier, that a commercial-tenant-only or residential-only policy cannot give an owner with a varied holding.
How do I make a claim on property owners insurance?
Tell the broker or insurer as soon as you become aware of damage or a liability incident, since property owners wordings set notification time limits and prompt reporting protects the claim. Make the property safe, arrange emergency repairs to prevent further loss and keep records, photographs and receipts. Where the loss makes a let property untenantable, the loss of rent section starts to run for the agreed indemnity period. For a liability claim from a tenant, leaseholder or member of the public, pass any correspondence on unanswered and let insurers handle the defence. Reporting the right address matters most where several properties sit on one schedule.
What is the average clause and how does it affect claims?
Average is the clause that lets an insurer scale a settlement down when a building is insured for less than its full rebuild cost, and for a property owner it is the commonest reason a claim disappoints. Insure a let building for only 70% of what reconstruction would take, and the payout is cut to 70% of the loss. It bites on modest partial-damage claims as readily as on a total loss, so it is not held back for catastrophic fires alone. Across a portfolio the risk multiplies, since each address is tested on its own sum insured, and the remedy is to set every building at its full rebuild figure and never at market value.
How do I work out the correct rebuild value?
For a fairly ordinary let building with a rebuild figure below about £1m, a desktop assessment drawing on BCIS (Building Cost Information Service) rates and regional construction indices will usually do. Once the value climbs, or the property is listed, mixed-use or in any way out of the ordinary, a formal reinstatement cost assessment from a RICS-accredited surveyor is the sounder path. An owner with a portfolio should check each address in turn rather than trust a single blanket figure, and revisit the numbers every three to five years so they keep pace with construction cost inflation and the average clause has nothing to bite on.
Who insures the building, the leaseholder or the freeholder?
On a leasehold building it is the owner who insures the structure, and that is normally the freeholder or the management company holding the head lease, not the leaseholders occupying the flats. A property owners policy covers the building on a rebuild basis and carries property owners’ liability for the common parts the leaseholders share, with the cost passed back through the service charge. Leaseholders take out their own contents cover and check the buildings sum insured is adequate. Where a lease is silent or split, the head lease settles who must insure, and an owner should confirm this before relying on anyone else’s cover.
How does property owners insurance differ from commercial landlord and residential landlord insurance?
Property owners insurance is the broadest of the three, the umbrella an owner uses when a holding is not confined to one sector. Commercial landlord insurance is written for premises let to business tenants on commercial leases, and residential landlord insurance covers homes let to residential tenants only. A property owners policy spans both and adds mixed-use buildings and blocks of flats, holding residential lets, commercial lets and everything between on one contract under a single property owners’ liability limit. An owner with only one flat or one shop may fit a single-sector policy, but an owner with a mixed holding is the reason property owners insurance exists.
How do I compare property owners insurance quotes?
Compare on the whole of an owner’s holding rather than one address in isolation, since property owners insurance is priced across the schedule. Many price-comparison journeys are engineered around home and simple SME cover, so a mixed holding, a block of flats, void units or a flood-zone postcode gets treated as an awkward edge case and comes back declined or loaded. A broker who handles property owners business daily reads occupancy, tenant type, liability limits and rebuild sums properly, and can reach Lloyd’s syndicates and specialist insurers that rate an owner’s risk on its merits. MyMoneyComparison puts you in touch with FCA-regulated brokers of exactly that kind.
Resources
Insurance Guides, Articles & Resources


