Landlords should not focus on cheapest home insurance

A new survey has shown that landlords are becoming increasingly tight when shelling out for home insurance .

Carried out by Pi-Property Insurance, the report showed that 40 per cent of agents thought landlords are more aware of the cost of home insurance, but experts have urged them not to cut costs during the recession .

Cheaper home insurance can actually end up costing more in the long-term, according to Michael Portman, managing director at Let Insurance Services, if the tenants do not treat the property well.

Mr Portman said that deposits are not always an adequate fallback: Sometimes what happens is that the tenant doesn't pay rent and then sometimes damages the property - painting on the wall, leaving the taps running in a malicious way.

£154.8 billion worth of household items are being left uninsured as people cut back on home insurance during the recession, according to price comparison website uSwitch.com.