Insurance is often overlooked when preparing for rental. You would be wise to check with your insurer if any possible liabilities won’t be covered when renting out a property. Possible insurance coverage includes:
Inventory insurance (Inventaris-goederenverzekering). Not to be confused with contents insurance (Inboedelverzekering), inventory insurance is specific to renting furnished properties. Probably your current contents insurance will be void when renting out your property however converting to inventory insurance should be an option. Please note that this type of policy often only covers natural disasters, fire, theft (following a break-in), water damage etc. It doesn’t cover damage or loss caused by the tenant.
Home insurance (Opstalverzekering). Possibly home insurance is already set up if the building has a VVE. Sometimes a rental clause is included within home insurance making home insurance valid when you rent out a property. Although, many insurers in the Netherlands simply do not offer the option of registering let properties. Insurers view let properties as a bigger risk than owner-occupied properties. You therefore need to check in advance with your current buildings insurance provider whether this can be altered.
Liability insurance (Aansprakelijkheidsverzekering). Coverage includes any accidental damage to tenant’s belongings. Maybe a water pipe bursts and destroys the tenant’s laptop. For such cases it’s a good idea to arrange a “zakelijke aansprakelijkheidsverzekering verhuur onroerend goed”. As long as the claims are covered by the insurance, the injured parties can receive compensation in the event of damage to property or personal injury.
Legal expenses insurance(Rechtsbijstandverzekering). Covers any necessary legal aid in connection to the rental. Legal fees due to disputes would be covered for example.
Tenants should also take out their own insurance for items they bring to the property although this is their responsibility to arrange.
