A Guide to Landlord Insurance in Australia
Landlord insurance is a type of insurance that provides coverage for your rental property and its contents from various risks such as fires, floods, and storms. This insurance can also protect you against damages caused by tenants and can even provide coverage for loss of rental income.
2.6 million Australians own an investment property, as reported by CoreLogic in their Profile of The Australian Residential Property Investor in 2016.
Who Should Consider Landlord Insurance?
The risk of losing your valuable investment due to damage or destruction to your rental property is high without landlord insurance. Moreover, you may experience a loss of rental income if the property is unrentable during repairs or if tenants break their lease or get evicted. Opting for landlord insurance can mitigate these risks and provide essential protection to preserve your investment.
What Does Landlord Insurance Cover?
With our landlord Insurance, you can enjoy comprehensive protection in the event of loss or damage to your investment property. Notably, our Landlord Insurance comes with added benefits that are automatically included. The coverage you can receive through landlord insurance varies depending on the specific policy you choose. Nonetheless, our landlord insurance offers a range of potential benefits, including:
Automatic coverage for fire, explosion, and flood.
Automatic adjustment for inflation in the event of a buildings or contents claim.
Automatic coverage up to $10,000 for damages to the landlord's contents, such as portable furniture, washing machines, carpets, and curtains, with the option to increase coverage amounts.
Coverage for damages caused by electric motor burnout for appliances up to 15 years old.
Coverage for damages or losses resulting from tenants or their visitors (with some exclusions).
Liability coverage of up to $20 million for loss of life, injury, or loss of third-party property on a building you own.
Additional catastrophe coverage of up to 15% of the building sum insured for declared natural disasters.
Up to an additional 15% of the building's total sum insured for architects and engineering fees, demolition and debris removal.
Optional coverage for loss of rent or an absconding tenant.
Optional tax audit coverage with coverage options of $2,000 or $5,000.
What Is Typically Excluded From Coverage?
While each policy may differ, typically, landlord insurance doesn't cover the following:
Damage resulting from tenant neglect or carelessness.
Rust, corrosion, gradual deterioration, or wear and tear.
Unoccupied homes for 90 continuous days.
Moreover, there are additional exclusions that your insurance broker can provide. Additionally, there is usually a deductible or excess that you would need to pay before the insurance coverage kicks in.
It's important to note that landlord insurance can be beneficial if your property sustains damage, as it can cover you for loss of rent if you are unable to rent out the property for a period of time. A landlord insurance policy may also include coverage for accidental damage, theft, and malicious damage caused by tenants, as well as loss of rent in case the tenants leave without paying.
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