Rightmove launches letting agent insurance to cover lost fees

Rightmove is launching a new insurance product for letting agents called Agent Revenue Protection.

It is designed to pay out up to 15 per cent of the monthly rent to cover an agent’s management fee if a tenant can’t or won’t pay rent.

Rightmove says it’s been created following feedback from agents looking for alternative revenue protection where a landlord does not think rent guarantee insurance is necessary.

The insurance pays the legal costs of the eviction process and is available for rents up to £100,000 a year, subject to eligibility criteria being met.

Rightmove has told Letting Agent Today that, by way of illustration, for a property with a rent of up to £2,500 pcm the price of the insurance for an agent would be £5.60 per month.

The portal says that Landlord Action estimates the typical cost of legal fees to a landlord for an eviction is £1,500, and this product protects the landlord from having to pay this as part of a managed service.

Cover is provided until vacant possession of a property is achieved, and the insurance has no excess. It also includes legal services for any breach of the tenancy agreement including removal of squatters, a mediation service and a free commercial legal advice helpline.

“We’ve spoken to hundreds of agents in recent months about insurance cover and they’ve given us some really valuable feedback” according to Andy Wynne-Jones, Rightmove’s head of insurance.

“One thing we’ve been hearing is that they know from experience that a number of landlords can face tenant arrears and potential evictions, but individual landlords may not think rent guarantee is necessary if they haven’t experienced issues like this themselves or if they’re relatively new to the industry.

“This product fixes that. From the agent’s perspective, their management fee income is covered, so their revenue is protected. The eviction process is handled from beginning to end – meaning less hassle, and the agent can include the legal services within their management package, so the landlord can rest assured the end-to-end eviction process is covered as part of their managed service.

“There’s definitely a place in the market for full rent guarantee cover and since launching our market-leading indefinite rent guarantee policy last year, take-up has been strong. But this new service offers agents more choice and gives them greater control to protect their income without necessarily having to involve the landlord.”