Property insurance for tenants
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- Take out your property insurance immediately online
- File insurance claims using our app or by contacting your insurance agent
Is property insurance compulsory?
That depends on which region your rented property's situated in. In Flanders, tenants have been under a legal duty to take out property insurance since 1 January 2019. Wallonia made tenant's insurance compulsory on 1 September 2018. Brussels has not yet officially gone that far.
However, if you are a tenant, we recommend that you take out tenant’s liability and home contents insurance, to avoid having to cover these costs yourself. In fact, a lease will often include a tenant's obligation to take out property insurance anyway.
More information on whether home insurance is compulsory or not is provided here.
Good to know
Perhaps you’ve also heard the terms ‘fire insurance’ or ‘property insurance’ being used in Belgium and wondered what the difference is with home insurance. It may be a bit confusing, but actually home insurance, property insurance and fire insurance are the same thing.
However, this type of insurance covers more than just damage caused by fire, it also covers damage to your home caused by storm, lightning, hail or other natural disasters. That’s why people prefer to talk about home insurance or sometimes property insurance instead of fire insurance.
When your contents are also covered under a home insurance policy, it is sometimes referred to as ‘contents insurance’.
Why take out property insurance as a tenant?
As a tenant, you also require property insurance.
- You are obliged to deliver the home you are renting to the owner in its original condition. You can mitigate the financial ramifications of a claim by taking out tenant’s liability insurance.
- Insuring your personal property (including furniture, clothing, computer, etc.) against damage is also a good idea.
Example
You arrive home one day only to find your house flooded because you forgot to turn off one of the taps before leaving. In this case, we will cover both the damaged home contents and your liability for water damage caused to the home.
Looking to insure your second rented home?
Check out our KBC Home insurance for tenants - second residence.
What does property insurance cover?
Property insurance covers far more than fire damage alone.
This insurance covers your liability, your home contents or both for the home you rent.
Based on your personal requirements, you can extend your policy by adding the following types of cover: theft insurance for home contents, legal assistance during disputes with the landlord (legal assistance) or contamination caused by leaks in your fuel oil tank (soil decontamination).
If you opt for this insurance, you are covered against damage to the rented home for which you are responsible.
What is insured?
- The home, annexes and fences
- Rented garage (even if it is located elsewhere)
- Property or items permanently attached to the building
If you sublet a section of the home, the subtenant is included in the cover.
What is not insured?
- Additional obligations in your lease which exceed the legal liability
- Deliberate destruction or theft of goods by you or members of your household
- Typical rental damage (such as wall plugs)
The complete list of exclusions can be found in the general conditions.
Good to know
Your third-party liability for loss or damage caused in, around or on the building, the grounds, any adjacent footpaths or their contents is not covered under this policy. This cover is provided under your family insurance.
Questions about your Home Insurance?
Don’t hesitate to contact our Insurance Expert via KBC Brussels Live or schedule an appointment with your bank branch or insurance agent.
Your home may be well insured, but what about its contents?
If you opt for this insurance, the contents of your home is covered. The contents will only be insured against theft if you choose to add on theft cover.
What is insured?
- Damage caused by, for example, fire, explosion, storm, hail, lightning, water, collision, ... to your
- Home contents: furniture, clothing, bicycles, jewellery, television sets, etc.
- Pets
- Motor vehicles and their trailers
- Damage to fixed equipment or improvements you made to the home as a tenant, at your expense, is also insured
And we take it a step further: your home's contents is also covered against all types of loss and damage, on condition that you did not expect said event to occur and that the loss or damage amounts to at least 1 250 euros. If you choose to add on this cover, you will also be protected against any loss or damage caused by theft or attempted theft.
What is not insured?
- Theft and attempted theft
- Loss
- Deliberate damage
- Damage caused by flooding to items outside the home
The complete list of exclusions can be found in the general conditions.
Where are your home contents insured?
- At your home address
- In your individual garage, even if this is located elsewhere or you are renting the garage
- In a building or part of a building you do not own, and are leasing or using (student residence, retirement or care home, ...)
If you go on holiday, we will insure your baggage in the holiday home you are renting or in your hotel room.
Your pets are insured everywhere.
Theft insurance for home contents
To get the best possible cover, you should insure the contents of your home against theft and attempted theft.
Covered
- Theft or attempted theft of contents (furniture, clothing, bicycles, jewellery, television sets, etc.), motor vehicles and their trailers, pets, etc. in or outside your home
- Theft or attempted theft involving violence, threats or a break-in while you are on holiday or in a public place
Not covered
- Theft or attempted theft of or from a vehicle located elsewhere (other than in a locked private garage) or on a public road
Legal assistance insurance for tenants
What if …
- Your landlord refuses to repair the roof?
- Or wrongly accuses you of having damaged the doors?
In these cases, this insurance covers legal assistance and support.
If you become involved in a legal dispute relating to the home you are renting, we engage the services of Defendo, KBC’s legal assistance department. They are an independent and specialised team, who guarantee honest advice and the confidential handling of your file.
What will Defendo do for you?
- Provide you with assistance
- Inform you of your rights and how you can enforce them
- Help you to gather all the information you need (including evidence, certificates and witness statements)
- Cover the fees and charges of lawyers, court bailiffs and various experts
- Cover the costs of the court or out-of-court proceedings
- Cover the loss you suffer if it turns out the liable party is unable to pay
What is insured?
Legal assistance if you become involved in a dispute with your landlord regarding
- The safety and liveability of the home
- The repayment of costs caused by a defect in the home
If you incur loss and/or damage, Defendo will assist you in order to ensure you are adequately compensated. If you are suspected of a crime, Defendo will ensure that you receive the appropriate legal support from a criminal defence lawyer. This applies if you are a suspect and also if you are entitled to consult a lawyer.
What is not insured?
- Fines or municipal administrative sanctions, charges or out-of-court settlements
- If the loss is related to the performance of a contract, Defendo will not become involved in the actual content of the contract, for example, discussions about price or quality
- In order to avoid conflicts of interests, Defendo does not handle any disputes involving you and another insured person
Soil decontamination insurance (not for flats)
If you use fuel oil to heat your home, you are personally responsible for checking the tank on a regular basis and for soil decontamination following contamination.
More than 3% of tanks start leaking at some point, often caused by rust. However, contamination may also occur while refilling the tank. You will also be responsible for covering the cost of the soil decontamination, i.e. the process of cleaning the contaminated land.
Only fuel oil tanks built less than 40 years ago and with a maximum capacity of 20 000 litres are eligible.
The total compensation per claim is 60 000 euros.
What is insured?
We cover the risk as well as the practical organisation of the compulsory soil decontamination.
We send an assessor to
- Determine the nature and seriousness of the contamination
- Take measures to limit the consequences
- Inform you of the statutory procedures relating to soil contamination
- Help you with any formalities to be completed
We arrange to have decontamination works carried out if the contamination is so serious that you are required by law to have the soil decontaminated.
What is not insured?
- Contamination that already existed when the cover was taken out
- Costs borne by the government or another body for the decontamination of contaminated soil
- The possible reduction in value of the contaminated soil
- Pollution and contamination caused by natural disasters
Switch to insuring your home at KBC Brussels with ease
But at KBC Brussels, we make things easy for you. When you take out a new policy with us online, we'll immediately show you a form for cancelling your old insurance. All you need to do is to complete the form and send it back to us. We’ll take care of the rest.
You don't even need to send a registered letter to your old insurer.
Good to know
KBC Home insurance for tenants may include one or more of the following types of insurance cover: tenant’s insurance, home contents insurance, theft insurance for home contents, soil decontamination insurance (home insurance) and legal assistance insurance for tenants (legal assistance insurance). These forms of insurance cover are designed for tenants of private homes. No commercial activity or liberal profession is carried out in the insured home.
- This product is governed by the laws of Belgium.
- Insurance cover under this policy is valid for a term of one year and is tacitly renewed unless you cancel it no later than three months before the main renewal date.
For policies taken out or tacitly renewed on or after 1 October 2024, you have up to two months before the main renewal date to cancel them. As a consumer, you can cancel your insurance contract at any time starting from the second insurance year, with effect after two months have elapsed from the day after the registered letter was submitted for delivery, the writ was served or the date of the acknowledgement of receipt. - Your intermediary is the first point of contact for any complaints you may have. If no agreement can be reached, please contact KBC Complaints Management, Brusselsesteenweg 100, 3000 Leuven, complaints@kbc.be, tel. 016 43 25 94. If you cannot find a suitable solution, you can contact the Belgian insurance industry’s ombudsman service: Ombudsman van de Verzekeringen, de Meeûssquare 35, 1000 Brussels, info@ombudsman-insurance.be, www.ombudsman-insurance.be. This does not affect your legal rights.
Contact your insurance expert or visit our website to request a quotation for KBC Home insurance for tenants.
KBC Home insurance for tenants is a product provided by KBC Insurance NV, Professor Roger Van Overstraetenplein 2, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
VAT BE 0403.552.563, RLP Leuven, IBAN BE43 7300 0420 0601, BIC KREDBEBB.
Company licensed by the National Bank of Belgium, de Berlaimontlaan 14, 1000 Brussels, Belgium, for all classes of insurance under code 0014 (Royal Decree of 4 July 1979, Belgian Official Gazette of 14 July 1979).
Member of the KBC group