Insurance - The Fine Print

Quite recently we have witnessed many unfortunate financial losses due to inadequate "landlord" insurance. Standard home and contents insurance will not protect against many of the risks that landlord’s face, and many bank generated landlord insurance policies have high excesses and do not cover the wide range of accidental damage that can occur during and at the end of a tenancy.

Many policies will cover rent loss AFTER the bond and after the excess of $500. If your property rents for $250 per week, you are out of pocket more than 6 weeks rent before your policy is activated.

The standard policy also only allows for malicious damage by a tenant. In our experience, malicious damage is vandalising a property and MUST be lodged with a police report.

99% of damage occurred at a property is accidental. We strongly recommend including this in your landlord insurance.

Does your current insurer guarantee:

• Flood cover

• Up to $20m Legal liability cover

• Loss of rent for up to 52 weeks loss of rent if property untenantable for at least 7 days due to a tenant maliciously damaging the building,

• Malicious/Accidental damage up to $60,000

• No excess on Loss of Rent and Rent Default claims

• Bond to apply to ‘bond expenses’ – cleaning, rubbish removal etc before being allocated to rent loss with NO EXCESS

• Periodic lease cover

• Damage caused by the tenant’s pets noted on the lease

• Scorching to benchtops and carpets caused by cigarettes, irons or cooking pots or pans

• Deliberate damage (e.g. hooks in walls/unapproved alterations)

If not, please contact us for information on who we would recommend as your preferred insurer.