Aviva landlord insurance review

With Aviva home insurance for landlords, you can protect the brick and mortar property itself, the contents or combine both under the same policy. Aviva offers unlimited contents cover, alternative accommodation for tenants and rental loss cover if your property is uninhabitable. Its policies can also be upgraded with optional extra cover for personal belongings or home emergencies, as well as cover against accidental damage to fixtures and fittings.

Who is Aviva?

Aviva is the largest general insurance provider in the UK, which has a wide range of financial products including landlord, home, car, van, motorbike, travel, pet and life insurance.

While it can be traced back as far as 1696, Aviva, as we know it today, was created in 2000 when Norwich Union and CGU plc merged. Although known as CGNU after the merger, the name Aviva was rolled out a short time later in 2002.

The Aviva Group is made up of several businesses, including Aviva Insurance Services UK Ltd and Aviva UK Digital Ltd, amongst others.

• Who underwrites the landlord insurance from Aviva?

  Landlord insurance policies are underwritten by Aviva Insurance Ltd.

  Aviva Insurance Ltd is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.

What is covered under my policy?

Aviva’s landlord insurance policies offer cover and protection for your rental property against certain risks. These include:

• Fire
• Storm
• Flood
• Theft
• Subsidence

Aviva landlord insurance also provides a range of additional features to protect you against some of the risks and costs associated with renting out a property. These include:

• Unlimited contents cover
• Loss of rent cover
• Alternative accommodation expenses
• Public liability
• Occupier’s and personal liability

You will be able to check your policy details for a complete breakdown of policy features to be sure you have the right cover for your own needs.

Optional extras

Aviva offers some extra protection that you can add onto your landlord insurance policy, including:

• Accidental damage cover
• Home emergency cover
• Personal belongings cover

What is my excess?

An insurance excess is the sum you will have to pay towards a successful claim. Your insurer will not pay for a claim that will cost below this excess amount. A compulsory excess amount could vary depending on a number of factors relating to your own circumstances.

A voluntary excess is extra to your compulsory excess and is normally set by you when taking out a policy. You might be able to add or increase a voluntary excess – which could help to lower your premium.

You’ll be able to get the details about all excesses, whether compulsory or voluntary, within your policy document.

How much will this cost me?

There are several areas that can alter the cost of your Aviva landlord insurance premium, including:

• The sum insured. The higher the amount is that you would like to insure your property or contents for, the more you are likely to pay for protection.
• The building. How old your property is in addition to what it is made from can affect its risk of being damaged.
• The location. Some risks such as flooding, storms or theft, are more prevalent in certain areas, and insurance providers will take this on board when working out how much your premium should be.
• Security. Having security measures in place such as an alarm system and extra locks or deadbolts can prevent or delay thieves from entering and therefore reduce the cost of your cover.

What is the claims process for Aviva?

You should call the Aviva claims line on 0345 030 6945. Alternatively, you can make a claim online via the Aviva website.

As well as having your personal details and policy details to hand, Aviva suggests that you also have the following information ready before making a claim on your landlord insurance:

• When the incident occurred.
• Information about the cause of the incident.
• The original value of lost or damaged items being claimed for.
• Personal contact details of all people involved in or at fault for the incident, in addition to information about any injuries sustained.

You may also need to provide the following additional information:

• Original invoices, purchase receipts, manual booklets or photographs, bank statements, utility bills, plans or deeds of your property
• Purchase dates and location of lost or damaged property.
• Confirmation from a suitably qualified expert that the damaged property you intend to claim for is beyond repair.
• It’s crucial that you inform your insurer about any incident as soon as possible. If you fail to do this, you could jeopardise a future claim being successful later on.

Aviva pros and cons