What Does Landlords Insurance Cover?
6th of June, 2018
The great thing about being a “LAND-lord” is that, well you own the LAND! And land has some very special properties (pardon the pun) like the fact that it is indestructible!
However, the same can NOT be said for the building that sits upon the land and its typically the rental income from this building that helps “LAND-lords” cash flow the holding of such assets.
But unlike the indestructible nature of land, its not always plain sailing for us Land Lords – a leaking tap, fire damage or a burst water pipe can cause terrible damage to your property. It can also leave you out of pocket or without a tenant and therefore without rent, leading to unexpected holes in your budget. Protection for your investment property is a critical component of your investment strategy and the correct insurance can help.
What is Landlord Insurance?
Landlord insurance is insurance for landlord’s covering tenant-related risks including loss of rental income and loss or damage by tenants to a building and / or its contents.
Why is Landlord Insurance important?
Standard home insurances do not cover events related to tenants and tenancies and often a tenant bond is not sufficient to cover the costs associated with damages caused by an event not covered under a standard house insurance policy.
How does Landlord insurance differ from normal home insurance?
In general, landlord’s insurance protects your investment property building and contents from loss or damage from extreme weather events as most standard insurance policies do. Landlord’s insurance also offers additional protection unique to landlords, such as loss of rent when your tenant can’t live in the home due to extensive damage caused by a claimable event.
A Landlord insurance policy allows you to take out cover for loss and damage associated with your tenants. These losses cannot be covered under standard residential home insurance.
Landlord insurance provides cover for your building and/or contents items, for example: carpet and furniture provided for use for your tenants. It also provides the following optional covers for added protection:
For loss of rental income
Landlord insurance typically provides cover for loss of rental income as a result of scenarios such as:
Absconding tenant
Defaulting tenant
Failure to give vacant possession
Death of a tenant
Hardship
Untenantable property
Prevention of access
Failure to vacate a holiday let property
Rent reduction
For Contents Cover
Landlord insurance may provide cover for furnishings like curtains, carpets, blinds and light fittings.
The cover provided generally includes:
Tenant Damage
Flood
Storm or rainwater
Escape of liquid
Fire or explosion
Break-in vandalism or theft
Pet damage
Scorching
Impact
Earthquake
Glass breakage
Lightning
Oil leakage from any heater
Electric motor burnout
Riot or civil commotion
For Buildings
Landlord insurance can provide cover for your building against loss or damage caused by tenants, their family or their invited guests.
The cover provided generally includes:
Tenant Damage
Break-in vandalism or theft
Pet damage
Scorching
Landlord insurance has additional benefits available outside Loss of rental income, contents and building cover.
These additions include:
Legal expenses and representation costs to specific limits
Bailiff or Sheriff fees
Lock replacements
Re-letting expenses in excess of the bond
Removal of goods
Tax audit costs and legal liability cover
Emergency Service damage
In many cases there are two types of Landlord insurance. One for landlords who use a property manager to manage their property and one for those who manage their investment property themselves.
Being a land lord and riding the real-estate cycle can be financially very rewarding. However, like all investments, this reward does not come without a few risks. Our job at Examine Property is to help you understand and mitigate many of these risks. We’d love to talk to you about the enormous opportunity that investing in property offers and how we can help.
Please Note
All information above is general information and has been prepared without taking into account anyone’s objectives, financial situation or insurance needs or requirements. When purchasing landlord insurance please base any decisions on appropriate advice and information contained in the relevant Product Disclosure Statement for the insurance product being considered.
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