All You Need To Know About Landlord Liability Insurance In Nigeria
There are risks involved in our day to day business dealings and being a landlord also has a fair share of the risks of doing business. The landlord liability insurance covers for any kind of risk or mishaps that come with being a landlord.
Being a landlord means that you are your own boss, you manage your own time and many other benefits that come with it. To be a landlord means that you have your own property to manage, and also tenants that live on your property.
Related: The things that are covered by Homeowners’ insurance policy in Nigeria
These things can expose you as a landlord to lawsuits if something goes wrong. The landlord liability protection is the thing that can and will help you in cases of any kind of lawsuits or other risks.
This article will go a long way to open your eyes to what and what you should know about landlord liability insurance.
What Really Is Landlord Liability Insurance
Landlord liability insurance is a standard component of landlord insurance policies.
It helps protect you as a landlord in cases that you are found liable like when someone is injured on your property or you are required to pay for damages done to another persons’ property.
Related: Five essential tips for buying business insurance policy in Nigeria
You should know that the landlord liability insurance coverage can cost you more than what a homeowners’ insurance coverage costs, even up to about 25% more as released by the insurance information institute.
The reason being that the landlords usually require more protection than the typical homeowners.
Even though there is a higher cost of purchasing the landlord liability insurance coverage, you should know that what you as a landlord stand to benefit from it is wonderful and great.
Benefits Of A Landlord Liability Insurance Coverage In Nigeria
There are many benefits that you as a landlord stand to gain from landlord liability coverage.
There are many potential risks that a landlord can run into and the landlord liability protection will step in to help.
Take, for example, one of your tenants gets injured because you failed to repair a handrail, you can be held responsible for the resulting injury if you were found negligent in maintaining the property or even if you just failed to inform the tenant of a potential safety risk in your building.
Your landlord liability insurance coverage will come in to help pay your legal defense and also cover for any court judgments that are made against you, to the limits stated in your insurance policy.
There are also other situations that you could be held liable according to the constitution of the country Nigeria.
If you as a landlord fail to provide adequate security for your tenants and there is a break-in, your tenants can also sue you for negligence.
Also, if your tenants get involved in an unlawful behavior and you as the landlord failed to take the necessary measures to stop it, you can also be held liable in a court of law in the country Nigeria.
Other Measures That Provide Protection For The Landlord
As a landlord, you must know that it is very important to minimize your liabilities to the barest minimum in the very first place. Below are a few measures to take as a landlord so as to reduce your liabilities.
- you should inspect the property regularly to make sure it is free from harmful objects
- Keep a record of the repairs you made on the building and also have a list of the complaints from your tenants.
- You should make sure that your tenants are free to come forward with any safety concerns.
- You should attend to the complaints of your tenants as soon as possible.
- You must put measures in place to checkmate the safety excesses of your tenants.
The landlord liability insurance combined with these preventive approaches can go a very long way in making sure that you enjoy the dividends of being a landlord in Nigeria.
If you have not yet registered with an insurance company for your landlord insurance coverage, then you are really joking with your property and you stand the very risk of losing it in times of crisis.
