By John Healy of Healy Insurances

If you own a residential investment property that is rented out on a long-term basis you will need specific landlord home insurance in place for your Buildings, Contents and Public Liability.

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The number of tenants may impact on the quotes given. Properties rented to local authorities would need to be specially referred with some underwriters.

Here are some tips when buying Landlord Insurance including some cost saving tips.

Buildings: Your Property should be insured for its rebuild cost not the market value. Rebuilding costs have increased substantially over the past 12 months. There is a handy rebuilding calculator on www.scsi.ie where you can calculate your own property. Under-insurance can have serious consequences in the event of a claim, so it is advisable to review annually and get professional advice from an insurance expert.

Contents: Landlords contents will cover the replacement cost for the items that the landlord owns, examples would include dining tables and couches. The tenants should have their own contents policy in place to cover their own belongings.

Review: Landlord Home Insurance rates use many data streams so it is crucial to ensure that your details are correct when quoting. Important factors are your Eircode, number of tenants, intruder and smoke alarms, year of construction and flat roof details, if applicable.

Shopping around: When shopping around it is important to understand that direct insurers and banks will only sell their own products. They may not be able to offer you choice or advise you on your options. It is also worth noting that you are free to move your insurance from your mortgage provider, we do this on a regular basis and succeed in securing large savings for these customers.

Use a Broker: As experts in Home Insurance we understand the market conditions and can advise which insurer or which product is most suitable for your specific needs. Aside from understanding the discounts than can be achieved in each case, we also negotiate bulk discounts from insurers to get the best prices for our customers.