Just wanted to get some advice from some more experienced investors out there as to what is the best landlord insurance on the market today - particularly in terms of malicious damage, rent default by tenant etc. I would be really interested in your opinions and experiences. I have recently learnt (the hard way) that perhaps the mainstream insurers i.e AAMI, GIO etc are not perhaps best equipped to deal with the area?
Best Landlord Insurance?
- Thread starter danap
- Start date
I can't give you advice on the best insurers in this context, but my suggestion would be to use the same insurer as the one covering the building.
The last thing you want is a claim and the landlords insurer saying it's the building insurers responsibility and vice versa. Using the same company for both avoids this problem.
If you building is insurered under a body corporate arrangement, you'll find details of the insurer in your body corporate minutes.
The last thing you want is a claim and the landlords insurer saying it's the building insurers responsibility and vice versa. Using the same company for both avoids this problem.
If you building is insurered under a body corporate arrangement, you'll find details of the insurer in your body corporate minutes.
i am with whitbread but there claim time sucks easily 2 months now ... about to escalate it.
I have found AAMI to have quite good Building and Landlord cover for Houses. They will cover up to 13 weeks of rent arrears (excluding the first 4 weeks rent) and have found them to be excellent to deal with. If you have a Unit/Villa/Townhouse etc tho they don't do Strata Insurance of any kind any more (as I found out today when I went to renew 
) and you are best to have the building insurance covered by the body corp strata Insurer where possible.
Also check out Terri Scheer who are landlord Insurance specialist.
At the end of the day tho it comes down to you doing due diligence and reading the diclosures to ensure that your insurer is sufficient for your individual needs.
) and you are best to have the building insurance covered by the body corp strata Insurer where possible.Also check out Terri Scheer who are landlord Insurance specialist.
At the end of the day tho it comes down to you doing due diligence and reading the diclosures to ensure that your insurer is sufficient for your individual needs.
I'm not sure who the insurer is (not at home at present) but it is whoever St George's bank use - I looked at moving to Westpac since I have 4 loans with them (and the rest with St George) but even though I asked for a good quote, it was way more than what I am currently paying. I did not read through the fine print to see if they offered more, though. The insurers I am with have always paid out ok.
I did have a funny one just recently. The tenant has accidently spilt hot fat on carpet and it has ruined a bit about 30 cm square. Insurer will not pay out even though I have contents insurance, as they only pay out for malicious tenant damage. They say the tenant has to pay. Fortunately I found out the tenant has insurance. We have to replace the whole carpet though as its in a very exposed spot.
That is what I thought but the bond is only 8 weeks. It is not really enough to
- clean the house (say $500.00)
- remove all the stuff they leave (say $600)
- fix damages (say $1000)
- missed water bills (say $200)
- missed rent (say 4 - 8 weeks). NRMA doesn't cover the first 4 weeks or the loss of income due to the vacancy while you are fixing it.
My vote goes to EBM with their rent cover ultra product. Again their another landlord specialist insurer and very similar to Terri Scheer. Also very reasonable price wise but with good overall landlord cover and from the research I did a while back excellent to deal with should a claim actually be required.
Heaps of past posts on this subject also if you use the advanced search option above.
Also should you go with them then don't take their first written quote as gospel you can definitely haggle to sub $300 per annum per property, even more so if you have multiple properties. Terri Scheer a good second option though in my opinion.
Heaps of past posts on this subject also if you use the advanced search option above.
Also should you go with them then don't take their first written quote as gospel you can definitely haggle to sub $300 per annum per property, even more so if you have multiple properties. Terri Scheer a good second option though in my opinion.
I use Suncorp landlord's insurance.
I've had a floor collapse in one instance and sewerage pipe exploding and covering the room in you-know-what (leading to commercial cleaning and replacement of kitchen and flooring and everything on the ground floor)... well, they've been patient with me in a panic and the contractors they send out seem to do a pretty good job of customer service (i.e. not upsetting my tenants and rushing one of the jobs to make sure the confused and stressed resident toddler in temporary accom could return home again).
Haven't used any other ones yet though, so not sure how they compare with others in the same circumstances. Hope I never EVER have the same circumstances again! Visiting sewage-coated walls = worst day of 2011. Blerk!
P.S. I don't bank with them. I use a credit union and a diff bank for other things. Dunno if it makes the premium more expensive than if I banked with them (still cheaper than my other quotes). The montly premium is only part of the story --> in all honesty, when the sh_t hits the fan (literally) you really don't care!
I've had a floor collapse in one instance and sewerage pipe exploding and covering the room in you-know-what (leading to commercial cleaning and replacement of kitchen and flooring and everything on the ground floor)... well, they've been patient with me in a panic and the contractors they send out seem to do a pretty good job of customer service (i.e. not upsetting my tenants and rushing one of the jobs to make sure the confused and stressed resident toddler in temporary accom could return home again).
Haven't used any other ones yet though, so not sure how they compare with others in the same circumstances. Hope I never EVER have the same circumstances again! Visiting sewage-coated walls = worst day of 2011. Blerk!
P.S. I don't bank with them. I use a credit union and a diff bank for other things. Dunno if it makes the premium more expensive than if I banked with them (still cheaper than my other quotes). The montly premium is only part of the story --> in all honesty, when the sh_t hits the fan (literally) you really don't care!
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We had Suncorp for a IP that was flooded in brisbane - dearer than others from memory but covered everything and paid out on time, loss of rent up until rebuilding complete or prop sold - no problems at all.
This is how I compare - may be of help to some. If of no use - no need to complain or critique as seems to have become the norm with many.
I think it was current as of about 12 months ago, from memory the wording had not changed since April 09 - just check the current policy versions and accuracy of my spreadsheet. I don't like CGU as the policy was too vague and left too much open for interpretation, had no luck in having questions addressed. AAMI was too light on coverage. Both these may have changed recently. Suncorp has best coverage out of those I have considered, but pricey.
I think it was current as of about 12 months ago, from memory the wording had not changed since April 09 - just check the current policy versions and accuracy of my spreadsheet. I don't like CGU as the policy was too vague and left too much open for interpretation, had no luck in having questions addressed. AAMI was too light on coverage. Both these may have changed recently. Suncorp has best coverage out of those I have considered, but pricey.
Wow thats great Beachside thanks for the useful information!
I just renewed insurance for a place in ACT with CommBank (same as mortgage) but did not check it out in that much depth as a friend is renting the place and was more concerned with price. Noticed also they had 5star Cannex rating also. They were heaps cheaper than westpac who I also looked at but with more features from my brief look.
However, if I had a prop that had the remotest chance of flooding, like our ex place in brisbane that did in the 2011 floods, I would definitely go Suncorp. (No hassle with defining "what is a flood", and $ payout was great!)
I just renewed insurance for a place in ACT with CommBank (same as mortgage) but did not check it out in that much depth as a friend is renting the place and was more concerned with price. Noticed also they had 5star Cannex rating also. They were heaps cheaper than westpac who I also looked at but with more features from my brief look.
However, if I had a prop that had the remotest chance of flooding, like our ex place in brisbane that did in the 2011 floods, I would definitely go Suncorp. (No hassle with defining "what is a flood", and $ payout was great!)
Thanks Beachside- Can you do all the rest?
This is actually messing with my head. I have most with Terry Scheer but the houses are an issue as I want both with the same insurer (house and landlord).
I got one quote from Terri Scheer but they were quite expensive. Might give them another go now that I have more.
St George are at me to send them all to them and they will give me a good price. Without going through every one (as Beachside has done) you don't know if you are comparing apples with oranges.
Also the test only comes when you make a claim. That's why I think it's good to hear from people who have had to make claims with different companies.
Thanks everyone.
This is actually messing with my head. I have most with Terry Scheer but the houses are an issue as I want both with the same insurer (house and landlord).
I got one quote from Terri Scheer but they were quite expensive. Might give them another go now that I have more.
St George are at me to send them all to them and they will give me a good price. Without going through every one (as Beachside has done) you don't know if you are comparing apples with oranges.
Also the test only comes when you make a claim. That's why I think it's good to hear from people who have had to make claims with different companies.
Thanks everyone.
