PDPLA Landlord Insurance

There have been a couple of questions from members this month about our relationship with Alan Boswell Insurance Brokers – how much is the discount, why should we use, etc.The short answer is because the PDPLA depends on you doing so and, if you don't, we will need to charge membership fees but for the full detail, read on…  

What Is The Deal?

For you as a member, we recommend Boswells as they offer a comprehensive 5-star landlord insurance that we check against the market every year and just on price – other providers always look cheaper, but when we check the detail and ask them to offer the same cover on all the differences, such as 'adding in cover for malicious damage caused by tenants' (many providers offer 'malicious damage' cover but exclude any caused by the occupants for example) we find that at the end of the day, there is very little difference in price.

We also know, that when members really need their insurance, all of our experiences have shown Boswells to be the sort of broker you really want at that time. We have used the example before, but when our previous chair, Martyn Winfield had a serious property fire several years ago – Boswells had an assessor on site within a couple of days, tenants were rehoused, building works organised and paid for and although the property was 'out of the market' for nearly 6 months, most of the pain and hassle was taken from Martyn by Boswells who made sure everything was resolved as quickly and smoothly as possible.

Do I Get A Discount?

No – that is not how this works. And no, the PDPLA do not get a sales commission as such for your business, but we are compensated for any business that Boswells believe they won because of our recommendation.

Firstly, make sure Boswells know you are a PDPLA member. This should not alter your premium but as stated, we believe it will be competitive and if you don't believe it, discuss the details with Boswells alongside a competitor offer.

Do ask for at least £1,000 excess – if the insurer knows you are not going to claim for small, day to day problems like damaged carpets or broken appliances they reduce the premium significantly.

From our perspective we recommend any company that we know  provides a high level of service or a good product and from an insurance perspective we have a long history of recommending Boswells - yes we make money from doing so, but that is not why we do it and this is the only company from all those we recommend that we gain any commercial benefit from doing so.  From Boswells perspective we are an 'Introducer Appointed Representative' of Alan Boswell Insurance Brokers Ltd who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. This means we can receive a share of the commission earnt by them for making the introduction. This share is from their standard commission, so rest assured you are not being charged more than you would if you went direct to them. This commission share currently constitutes around 70% of our income, which is why we can operate without asking for membership fees (previously these were £60 per annum) – so if you cannot find an alternative insurer who offers the same cover for at least £60 less per year, you will be worse off (if we have to introduce fees again).

And what do Boswells say?

I asked Steve Cox, our account manager at Boswells and he said, "the PDPLA are getting commission payments for all new business and subsequent renewals which is used to help run the association for the benefit of its members.

It's fair to say that we moved away from fixed rates for all landlords' associations around 15 years ago in favour of postcode rating and individual risk performance based, which is much fairer for those that have good claims experience for example.

Members are also no longer tied to just one insurer; we have four main scheme insurers and access to open market rates which we use when our schemes are not suitable for whatever reason.

We do encourage members to take £1,000 excess in exchange for a significant premium discount.

I confirm that this will be reiterated to all staff so they are aware."

So – when you renewal comes up – do consider why you insure / what it is you expect in return for that spend and having decided that, do please consider whether Boswells can meet that need and if so, please do use them as it helps support the PDPLA.