Simple landlord insurance is a reasonable thing to want. Landlord policies are sold as packages with eight or nine sections and a first time buyer has no way to judge which matter. The minimum that actually works is short, and knowing what it is makes the optional sections a choice rather than a guess.
The minimum
Buildings cover at the correct rebuild figure, unless the property is a leasehold flat whose freeholder insures the structure. Property owners liability at a limit above the default. That is genuinely it as a floor: the building replaced and the injury claim answered. Everything else on a landlord schedule improves the outcome rather than preventing a catastrophe.
What most landlords should add anyway
Loss of rent, because the mortgage does not stop. Accidental damage by tenants, because that is where the everyday claim lands and a deposit rarely covers it. Landlord contents sized to what you actually supplied. These three take a minimum policy to a sensible one and cost far less than the buildings section.
What can be left out deliberately
Home emergency, if you are local with a reliable tradesperson. Rent guarantee, if you could absorb several months of arrears. Malicious damage, which is rare. Legal expenses, though it is usually cheap enough that removing it saves little. Each of these is a defensible decision; none of them is a good accident.
What should never be trimmed
The sum insured. Reducing it to reduce the premium triggers averaging, which reduces every claim proportionally including small ones, and it is the only saving in landlord insurance that makes the cover worse rather than smaller. Index link it and leave it alone.
Questions people ask about simple landlord insurance
What is the minimum landlord insurance I need?
Buildings at the correct rebuild figure and property owners liability above the default. On a leasehold flat, liability and contents without a buildings section.
Can I drop accidental damage to save money?
You can, and it is where most everyday claims land. It is usually a small part of the premium relative to how often it is used.
Is the cheapest policy ever the right one?
It can be, if it is cheap because you declined sections you genuinely do not need. It is not if it is cheap because the sum insured is wrong.
What is the one thing never to reduce?
The sum insured. Underinsurance reduces every claim proportionally and is the only saving that makes cover worse rather than smaller.