Professional & Working Let Insurance UK

Why You Need It

What is Professional Let Insurance?

A professional or working let is a standard AST (Assured Shorthold Tenancy) where you rent your property to employed tenants. It's the most common landlord scenario in the UK — and the baseline for all landlord insurance cover.

⚠️ Standard home insurance won't cover you: The moment you let out a property, standard home insurance is invalidated — even for a single room, even to family. You need a specific landlord policy, and it needs to match the type of letting you actually do.

6 or 12-month AST (or rolling) with employed or self-employed tenants
Referenced and credit-checked tenants, deposit held under a government scheme
Property damage from insured events — fire, flood, storm, escape of water
Tenant injury claims — landlord liability cover responds to these
Loss of rent if the property becomes uninhabitable after an insured event
Accidental damage by tenants, and rent default if tenants stop paying
A gap between tenancies leaves the property unoccupied for longer than your policy's standard allowance
Managed directly or via a letting agent — declare which, as it can affect terms

💡 Most professional let landlords need at minimum: Buildings insurance (a mortgage lender condition if you have a buy-to-let mortgage), landlord liability cover, and loss of rent — with legal expenses and rent guarantee worth adding for most standard tenancies.

Cover Types

What Does Professional Let Insurance Cover?

A professional let policy bundles the cover you need for a standard AST — beyond what standard home insurance ever provided.

🧱

Buildings Insurance

Covers the structure against fire, flood, storm, escape of water and subsidence. Required by your buy-to-let mortgage lender.

🛋️

Contents (Furnished Lets)

If you provide furniture, white goods or furnishings, landlord contents cover protects these against damage or theft.

💷

Loss of Rent

Pays your rental income while your property is uninhabitable following fire, flood or major damage during the repair period.

⚖️

Landlord Liability

Covers legal costs and compensation, typically up to £2–5m, if a tenant or visitor is injured and holds you responsible.

📜

Legal Expenses (Add-on)

Covers eviction proceedings, rent recovery, deposit disputes and other tenant-related legal costs — typically up to £50,000.

🔑

Rent Guarantee (Add-on)

Pays your rent if tenants default. Requires a valid AST, referencing and sometimes an excess period before claims activate.

Choosing Cover

What to Look for When Comparing Professional Let Insurance

A few things worth checking before you buy, whichever UK insurer or broker you compare.

📐

Indemnity limit

Check the limit matches what your contracts, landlord or clients require — common tiers are £1m, £2m, £5m and £10m depending on trade and risk.

📄

Claims basis

Professional and liability covers are often "claims-made" — cover depends on holding a live policy when a claim is made, not just when the work happened.

🔍

Exclusions

Read what's excluded, not just what's covered. Sub-contractor work, specific activities, or work carried out overseas are common gaps.

✅

FCA authorisation

Before buying, confirm any insurer or broker is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority — check the register at register.fca.org.uk.

🤝 We're finalising partnerships with FCA-authorised UK insurers so you can compare real quotes here soon. Check back shortly, or get in touch if you'd like to be notified when comparisons go live.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. The moment a property is rented out, standard home insurance is void. You need a specialist landlord policy to cover buildings, liability and loss of rent — even for a single property on a simple tenancy.

Many mainstream insurers do now cover DSS or housing benefit tenants, though some still restrict cover or charge a higher premium. Always declare the tenancy type when getting a quote — failure to do so could invalidate a claim.

Standard landlord policies typically restrict cover when the property is unoccupied for more than 30–45 days. If you have a gap between tenancies, contact your insurer to inform them — you may need to add unoccupied property cover for longer void periods.

Even referenced, employed tenants can lose their jobs or face financial difficulties. Rent guarantee insurance, typically £100–200 a year, can cover several months' rent if they default and you begin eviction proceedings — often worthwhile given average evictions can take 6–12 months.

Only if you directly employ staff — a gardener, cleaner or maintenance person on your payroll. If you use self-employed contractors or a letting agent's own staff, this generally isn't your responsibility, but check your agent's own insurance arrangements.

Related Cover

Other Residential Landlord Cover Types

Compare insurance for other property and tenancy types.

Insurance for Professional — and Working Tenant Lets

Get a Quick Quote