Landlord insurance explained

Landlord insurance will generally cover your investment property for¹

• Damage caused by defined events such as fire, lightning, theft and flooding.
• Loss of rent caused by your tenant defaulting on their payments.
• Malicious, intentional or accidental damage either by the tenant or their guests.
• Accidental loss or damage caused by yourself.
• Legal expenses (should you need to take action against a tenant).
• Legal liability.

Loss of rent: what is the difference between building insurance and landlord insurance?

Perhaps the biggest difference between building insurance and landlord insurance is the option of covering for loss of rent, either because the tenant has defaulted on paying their rent or because the tenant has left the property in an uninhabitable condition. However, this varies depending on the policy, so should you require this feature, make sure you read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) to make sure you’ve got the correct level of cover.  Your landlord policy may also cover loss of rent if the property is unliveable due to a defined event such as storm or fire.

Investment properties in strata managed buildings

If your investment property is a unit or townhouse, it is likely to be part of a strata plan. If this is the case, you’ll likely be covered for the public areas of your building as part of the strata insurance policy. It’s important you check with the Body Corporate to find out exactly what the building’s strata insurance provides cover for, so you’ll be able to make an informed decision about what level of landlord insurance you’ll need.

Make sure you read the PDS in detail

As always before deciding on any insurance policy, it’s important to read the Product Disclosure Statement thoroughly so you know exactly what you’ve covered for – and just as important – what you’re not covered for.