Will LL insurance cover these?

[oliver]

The tenant just vacated without telling anyone, and left a lot of rubbish, already not paying 8 weeks rent(month by month). Also there is a hole on the wall, many mould on lower wall (probably because smoke), blinds are damage, a lot, lot rubbish, lawn is overgrown, etc. Currently in the process of waiting VCAT.

I talked to the insurance company, they said if just because of the tenant is dirty, then it is not covered. For malicious damage, it is covered, but they need police report. But police won't come as the tenant is gone. As my excess fee is $1200, I am not sure whether it is worth to make a claim.

Does anybody have experience to claim LL insurance and can give me some idea? If I got VCAT's result will insurance company accept it? As it is month by month, will the lost of rent (from the 5th week) be covered by insurance? What about other damage?

Thank you very much.

 

[Goofy]

it really depends on your individual policy and who you are covered with.

As a general rule - most insurances will not cover cleaning or gardens so you deduct the cost of these from the bond, they will cover the cost of the lost rent (most should cover even despite a periodic tenancy) some will cover the cost of other damage if you have an order from VCAT.

an excess of $1200 sounds very high, that IMO is unusual so i assume you arent with a landlord specific insurance company?

 

[Sez]

Hi Oliver,

Firstly - How did your tenants get to 8 weeks in arrears without being asked to vacate and an appliation to VCAT being made?

It does depend on your policy (as Goofy said), however, I would recommend Property Insurance Plus for the future. In my experience they have excellent cover compared to some other insurance agencies. In general though a landlord specific insurance company is ALWAYS the best way to go.

The mould on the bottom of the walls concerns me. Smoke does not tend to cause mould but staining and if smoking inside this staining is evident over all of the walls. I would definately have that checked out as you may have a rising damp problem. Some moulds can be very hazardous to your next tenants health and it is not a problem you want to have!

As far as the insurance company accepting the VCAT result? Well, if they decide that what VCAT orders falls under house keeping then they may not honour that. Ask your PM if they have a debt collector for outstanding debts ordered by VCAT - you may not get anything but you also never know your luck.

Best of luck with all of this Oliver, let us know how it all turns out!

 

[oliver]

Thanks, Goofy and Sez.

Which company is landlord specific insurance company? Any good one to recommend? What is the difference? I choose $1200 excess fee to bring down the premium.

What is the debt collector? How does it work?

I talked to the insurance company again, they insist to get the police report, and they won't cover rent loss because it is month by month!

 

[Goofy]

I use property insurance plus for all of my owners ($239 per annum) or there is also EBM, Terri Sheer. They are the most common that agents use.

Unfortunately you may have learnt the hard way that increasing your excess to decrease your premium is kinda a silly move in the renting game given that a lot of claims are around the $1k mark anyway so what you have been paying for your premiums has been a waste of money anyway.

If you go with a landlord specific insurance company they understand the RTA, they also under the pressures landlords are under and the things nasty tenants can get up to. Companies like RACV and the like just dont get those kind of things They also understand periodic tenancies... which if you could force a tenant to sign a fixed term lease or evict a tenant on the basis they wont sign a fixed term lease then that would be well and good, but in Victoria you cant so that would mean a large majority of owners would not be able to insure their properties.

 

[Sez]

Hi Oliver,

It seems that Goofy and I are in agreement with Property Insurance Plus being an excellent landlord insurance agency - but as Goofy said - EBM and Terri Sheer are also quite good.

A debt collector will need a VCAT order. All of them vary and you will need to check with your property manager as to which one they use. In my experience it is fairly standart to have a no collection no charge arrangement with these collection agencies. However, if they do collect money they deduct their funds from this which average 12% plus GST. you may also be given the option to bring solicitors in to the mix which the debt collectors keep on hand, these options come with additional fees.

As far as your high excess, I think as Goofy said, it is a lesson learned the hard way. with landlords insurance the trick is to have a low excess as opposed to a high one. I am making a guess that your current insurance is through your bank? Places like Property Insurance Plus don't need you to have a tenant on a fixed term lease to honour the loss of rent option in your insurance.

I hope it all works out! How are things progressing.

 

[albertwt]

The tenant just vacated without telling anyone, and left a lot of rubbish, already not paying 8 weeks rent(month by month). Also there is a hole on the wall, many mould on lower wall (probably because smoke), blinds are damage, a lot, lot rubbish, lawn is overgrown, etc. Currently in the process of waiting VCAT.

I talked to the insurance company, they said if just because of the tenant is dirty, then it is not covered. For malicious damage, it is covered, but they need police report. But police won't come as the tenant is gone. As my excess fee is $1200, I am not sure whether it is worth to make a claim.

Does anybody have experience to claim LL insurance and can give me some idea? If I got VCAT's result will insurance company accept it? As it is month by month, will the lost of rent (from the 5th week) be covered by insurance? What about other damage?

Thank you very much.

is it possible to name that nasty insurance agent so that people here be aware of it ?