PropTech firm Goodlord is to offer illness and injury insurance to tenants  via a link with Legal & General. 

Goodlord already sells rent protection and legal expenses insurance, and tenants content and liability insurance. 

The new Illness and Injury Insurance will ensure tenants can cover the costs of their rent and bills should illness or injury prevent them from working. 

The PropTech firm claims this is “ideal for those with limited or no entitlement to sick pay from their employer, or the self-employed.”

Prices begin at £6 a month with applications processed through the Goodlord lettings platform. 

“If the customer is unable to work due to an accident or illness, the insurance starts paying after four weeks’ absence and will then pay a chosen monthly cash payment for up to 12 months. It does not cover unemployment” says the company.

Legal & General states that 21 per cent of renters save no money each month compared to 15 per cent of home owners. Renters are also more likely to have limited cash reserves than homeowners on average, with the average renter having only three days of savings, based on their current daily spending rate, before their income runs out. 

Goodlord claims these findings prompted the development of this insurance; currently, most products available require tenants to go through an advised sales process with a financial adviser – “creating barriers to entry and reducing take-up” it says.

In contrast, this product will be available to all tenants that go through the Goodlord platform and will be able to automatically give a price for an amount of cover based on the tenant’s current rent and anticipated bill payments; information which is gathered as the tenant moves through the Goodlord tenant and referencing platform. 

The whole process is digitised, with interested tenants able to opt-in to the coverage during their move-in process. 

“We’re constantly looking to introduce new ways to make the rental market stronger and more efficient” says Oli Sherlock, director of insurance at Goodlord.

“Working with Legal & General on this project has been a real meeting of minds; we share a vision of bringing greater security to agents, tenants and landlords: helping keep tenants in their homes, protecting landlords’ investments, and ensuring agents’ income is secure, while reducing the friction for renters that can surround accessing insurance.”