As a landlord, it is crucial to protect your investment from a range of potential threats such as damage to buildings and contents, plus rental default and damage by tenants. The key is getting the right landlord insurance, to adequately protect your unique circumstances and areas of need, balanced of course with the right cost. Levels of cost and cover can vary significantly and without the right experience it can be hard to spot the differenvces upon initial review. Orchard Insurance Brokers can provide you with carefully selected options to best suit your needs and explain the benefits / areas of cover plus highlight any limitations so that you can make an educated and transparent decision on your level of protection.
Buildings
Buildings policies should protect the structure of your property, covering aspects such as:
- Fixed appliances
- Fixtures and fittings, (except for carpets loose floor coverings, curtains and internal blinds)
- • Pipes and cables
- • Exterior blinds and awnings
- • Gas or plumbing systems
- • Some external structures (eg: garden shed)
Should your poperty be destroyed (completely or partially), your building insurance should also cover these circumstances, plus loss of rent while the property is not able to be leased. Should there be damage by a tenant or guest at the property, your landlord insurance policy should also cover these circumstances.
Contents
Even if you are not providing a furnished property, you may be surprised to discover that some items which you thought were part of the structure are actually considered contents and should be insured accordingly. Some of these items include:
- • Carpets
- • Furniture
- • Dishwasher, oven, microwave etc
- • Internal curtains & blinds
- • Light fittings (not permanently fixed to the buildings)
This will not cover property owned by the tenant.
Rent default
Should a tenant fail to fulfill their rental obligations, landlord insurance can protect you from loss of income. Policies will vary, but most will cover the followingaspects:
- • Default
- • Tenant eviction due to a court order
- • Tenants obtaining a hardship order
- • Unexpected death of tenant
Many policies only cover loss of income beyond four weeks of unpaid rent, or charge an excess equivalent to four weeks rent. As such and as a valuable tip, it is wise to obtain four weeks rent as bond when leasing your property.
Call the friendly team at Orchard Insurance Brokers or drop into our office at Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast, to discuss a suitable landlord insurance policy for your needs.
National Advisory Services Pty Ltd t/as Community Broker Network (CBN) are members of NIBA and as an Authorised Representative of CBN, we subscribe to the Insurance Brokers Code of Practice.
The code is a statement of the industry’s commitment to high levels or competency, training and customer service. It also ensures that there is a free and transparent complaints and compliance review process which imposes binding sanctions for any breach of the Code. It is designed to promote better and more professional, informed and effective relationships between insurance brokers and their customers.
