Alps and Guarantor Insure have launched an insurance scheme intended to protect people acting as guarantors for students in rented accommodation.

The Student Guarantor Protection policy was developed jointly by the two companies and is underwritten by AmTrust Specialty Limited.

The scheme combines Guarantor Insure’s knowledge of the student guarantor market with Alps’s product development, claims, legal and dispute resolution services.

Those agreeing to guarantee a student’s tenancy can face a substantial financial exposure, particularly where the agreement makes tenants and their guarantors jointly and severally liable.

Under such an arrangement, a guarantor could face liabilities extending beyond the student whom they agreed to support. The insurance differs from professional guarantor services, which replace the need for an individual guarantor, because it covers people who have already accepted that responsibility.

The policy offers legal advice and representation in disputes involving landlords, letting agents, other occupants or their guarantors over rent arrears or dilapidations.

It can also provide indemnity for qualifying liabilities exceeding the student’s proportionate share, with several levels of cover available. Policyholders will have access to Alps’s claims and legal services, including dispute resolution intended to settle disagreements before court proceedings become necessary.

Michelle O’Reilly, managing director of Alps, said: “This partnership demonstrates what we can offer as an MGA beyond off-the-shelf solutions.

“Working with Guarantor Insure, we’ve brought together AmTrust’s underwriting capacity with our product expertise and in-group claims and legal capabilities to create a genuinely bespoke solution around an identified customer need.

“For the guarantor, it’s not simply financial protection. Having specialist legal and claims support available when a dispute first arises can be equally important in helping achieve an early and proportionate resolution.”

Tim Wakelin, founder of Guarantor Insure, added: “We identified a clear need for protection designed specifically around the risks student guarantors face.

“Working collaboratively with Alps has enabled us to develop a bespoke insurance solution combining our understanding of this market with their insurance, claims and legal expertise.”