Billing Better is partnering with Guarantor Insure

Billing Better is partnering with Guarantor Insure

For student guarantors, finding out that they’re jointly and severally liable for a tenancy is probably one of the biggest and most unexpected surprises. As a landlord or letting agent, it can cause added headaches and makes it hard to recoup losses should the worst happen. 

That’s why we’re excited to announce a new partnership with Guarantor Insure, designed to protect both guarantors and agents with a simple insurance policy, offering peace of mind.

Guarantor Insure has the only UK insurance product specifically created to protect student guarantors who are made joint and severally liable under the terms of a tenancy agreement and limits their liability to their ‘nominal share’ based upon the number of tenants and subject to the policy wording. Though guarantors will still be liable for their ‘nominal share’ of any unpaid rent or damage in the case of a tenancy dispute, their insurance will cover the liability of the other ‘absent’ guarantors, which is great news for guarantors and landlords alike. 

Our research indicates a concern from parents and guardians in regards to who is actually responsible for a property which is classified as a Home In Multiple Occupation (HMOs). When a student guarantor enters into a tenancy agreement, they can become jointly and severally liable and would be legally standing guarantor for the entire tenancy and the conduct of all the tenants. Our partnership is designed to take away this unnecessary stress. 


How this benefits landlords and letting agents 

In the event of a dispute over outstanding rent payments or damage, guarantor insurance policies provide a dispute resolution service to help bring all the guarantors together to agree upon a fair and amicable solution should a breach of the tenancy agreement occur.

Listening to industry experts and evaluating customer feedback, Billing Better recognised a need for a specialised product to protect students and guarantors in the event of a dispute over outstanding payments or damage. If a dispute cannot be resolved and the policyholder is threatened with court action, the policy provides both legal and financial protection and limits the policyholders’ liability to their 'nominal share’ (subject to terms and conditions). 

You can even arrange the cover up to six months in advance, with coverage beginning on the start date of the tenancy and lasting for up to 12 months. Taking out an insurance policy offers peace of mind, with fixed annual premiums, a dispute resolution service, and legal and financial protection. What’s more, it’s quick and simple to arrange cover, and can be sold as an add-on to tenants and guarantors as a landlord, agent, or accommodation provider. 

Speaking of the new partnership, Tim Wakelin, Guarantor Insure CEO, said: “I founded Guarantor Insure after providing tenancy guarantees, that made me joint and severally liable, for my son and daughter whilst they were at University. I was unable to find any insurance cover that would limit my liability so set about creating a product that could help other parents and guardians in this same situation. 

“Billing Better has applied the same thought process to the problems faced by tenants based upon experience at University in managing bills and household running costs in a student house. I am wholly impressed with the way in which they not only make it simple for students to set up household bills and essential services but that they also help them to manage their outgoings even returning and excess payments at the end of their tenancy.”

Billing Better CEO, Jack Ray, said: “We’re delighted to partner with Guarantor Insure, and offer students this fantastic product; it provides a great solution for parents/guardians/agents and landlords who are concerned about ‘who covers what’ when students rent a property together. When looking at new partnerships, we look at the products available, however, we also spend time evaluating the potential people we are going to work with, as this is often overlooked when pursuing new partnerships. 

“Tim is a recognised industry professional and from our very first meeting, I was impressed with his commitment to providing a quality product to help protect students (and their guarantors) at an economical rate, this aligns with our philosophy of helping students.”


To find out more about our new partnership, or to arrange guarantor insurance for your tenants and guarantors, click here to drop us an email, or call us on 0208 106 1894 today.