A tenant drops a heavy pan and cracks the hob. You have landlord insurance, but that alone does not tell you whether the repair is covered.
Accidental damage may be covered when the relevant section is included and the incident meets its terms. Start with your policy schedule, endorsements and full wording. The useful question is: does this policy cover this item, this cause of damage and these circumstances?
Start with the damaged item
Write down what was damaged, who owns it and whether it is part of the building or an item you supplied.
Propertymark’s landlord insurance guidance distinguishes cover for the structure and built-in features from contents a landlord provides. A tenant’s belongings need separate consideration; your contents section should not be treated as cover for everything inside the home.
For a damaged hob, check how your insurer classifies it. For a carpet or freestanding appliance, check the wording rather than assuming the category. An inventory can help establish what you supplied and its recorded condition.
Propertymark also warns landlords to tell their existing buildings and contents insurer that the property is being let. Check that the policy reflects the actual letting arrangement.
Check the cover you bought
Find the accidental-damage entry in your schedule. Then follow its references to the full terms and any endorsements.
Use this checklist:
- Is accidental damage included for the building, your contents, or both?
- How does the policy define the damage it covers?
- Does it address damage caused by tenants, visitors or contractors?
- What exclusions and limits apply to the item and incident?
- Which excess applies, and could more than one section be involved?
- What does the insurer require when you notify a claim?
A short summary helps you find the important points, but it is not the full contract. The FCA’s policy-summary framework for commercial customers identifies significant features, exclusions, limitations and claim contacts as useful information. Check the wording behind each summary entry.
If something is unclear, send the insurer a specific question with the relevant clause and a description of the incident. Keep its answer with the policy.
Ask about the cause, not just the repair
A broken item describes the result. The insurer also needs to understand what happened.
For a spill, ask whether the affected item and cause fall within your cover. For damage involving a pet, look for the relevant terms. For an item that has deteriorated over time, distinguish the gradual condition from any identifiable incident. If damage appears deliberate, describe the evidence accurately rather than labelling it an accident.
These are questions to check against your policy. They are not a universal list of covered or excluded events.
Keep routine upkeep in your property maintenance checklist. An insurance decision should not become a reason to overlook an unresolved safety problem.
Work through the excess
An excess is the part of a covered claim you bear under the policy. Check the applicable amount before estimating a possible payment.
Here is a fictional example. Suppose the insurer accepts £900 as the covered repair amount and confirms that one £250 excess applies:
£900 − £250 = £650
That is £650 before any other policy adjustments. It is not a settlement prediction. Limits, valuation terms and the insurer’s assessment may affect the actual amount.
Ask the insurer how your specific excess works and whether you must notify the incident even if you are considering paying for the repair yourself. Record retained costs alongside premiums in your landlord costs calculator.
Prepare a clear incident record
Build a small evidence file containing:
- when the damage happened or was discovered;
- the tenant’s description and your own factual notes;
- dated photographs;
- the inventory, condition record and ownership evidence;
- estimates or invoices;
- the claim reference and correspondence.
Ask what evidence the insurer needs and whether it wants to inspect the damage before non-urgent work. Where urgent safety measures are needed, keep a record of the circumstances and contact the insurer as soon as practical.
Our landlord record-keeping checklist can help organise the documents so the claim history is easy to retrieve.
Keep tenant responsibility separate
Your claim, a tenant’s insurance and any question about deposit deductions need separate consideration. Do not assume that your policy excess automatically becomes a tenant’s debt.
As a Scotland-specific example, RICS’ renting guide explains that some tenant contents policies include accidental damage to the landlord’s property. That does not confirm what a particular tenant has bought or establish liability for the incident.
A worked incident file: keep facts and questions apart
Imagine the cracked hob in the opening example belongs to you. The tenant reports dropping a pan on Tuesday evening, sends two photographs and says the hob still switches on. Your inventory records the appliance, but you have not yet had a competent person assess its condition. That is enough to start a clear record; it is not enough to decide that using the hob is safe or that the claim will be accepted.
A useful first entry could look like this:
| Record | What to write | What remains open |
|---|---|---|
| Reported event | Tenant says a pan fell on Tuesday; message retained | Exact circumstances have not been independently established |
| Item and condition | Landlord-supplied hob; photographs and inventory attached | Assessment of damage and safe next steps |
| Policy question | Schedule and relevant wording attached | Which section, excess and notification requirements apply? |
| Next action | Contact the insurer with the facts and obtain appropriate repair advice | Inspection, evidence and any authorisation the insurer requires |
Notice the difference between “the tenant reports dropping a pan” and “the tenant is legally responsible for the replacement”. The first records what you were told. The second reaches a conclusion that this incident file has not established. Apply the same discipline to cover: write “awaiting the insurer's decision”, rather than “covered”, until you have that decision.
If the repair estimate later changes from £900 to £1,100, retain both versions and the reason for the change. Do not silently replace the original quote or treat the revised price as an agreed settlement. Ask which amount the insurer is assessing and update your own expected costs only when the position is clear.
Turn the insurer's answer into a next action
When a response arrives, file its date, claim reference and relevant policy explanation. Write down whether the insurer wants another photograph, an inspection, a revised estimate or something else, and who will provide it. Where a telephone answer affects your decision, ask for written confirmation of the important point.
Keep a short open-items list beside the correspondence. For example: “repair assessment requested”, “excess clarification outstanding” and “tenant updated”. Close each item when the evidence arrives. This makes the file usable if someone else has to handle the claim, without turning an administrative checklist into a promise about payment.
If the claim stalls
Ask for the claim’s status, the outstanding evidence and the next step. If it is declined, request the reason and the policy provision relied on, then use the insurer’s complaints process if you dispute the decision.
The FCA’s general claims-handling rules require insurers to deal fairly and promptly with claims and provide appropriate guidance and progress information. Those standards do not guarantee that an incident is covered.
Before you submit the claim, aim to have three things clear: the damaged item, the relevant policy section and a factual account of what happened.