Insurance

Discussion in 'Property Management' started by Jenko, 4th Dec, 2016.

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  1. Jenko

    Jenko Well-Known Member

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    My young fella is in the process of buying a property. He's paying $235k for the property but the insurance company (suncorp) is telling him the least they will insure the property for $370k. I have my properties insured through them and haven't really been with other companies so I'm not sure how they go with claims etc.. Can anyone recommend insurance companies that we could try?
     
  2. D.T.

    D.T. Specialist Property Manager Business Member

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    EBM is the most common investment property insurance. They give a forum discount as well.
     
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  3. willair

    willair Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    Only from my experience,Suncorp with the claims iv'e had over the years have been very good,they either fix the problem or pay you out,another insurance company i was with during the 2011 Brisbane floods never gave me one cent..
     
  4. Miss_D

    Miss_D Well-Known Member

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    Try online quotes. Suncorp gives $50 discount online.
    Depends on the state depends on the insurance cost.

    Also try and do quotes with seperate content and house as opposed to combined as i have found huge savings. Ppor in qld combined was getting 1800 +, seperated 1400$
     
  5. Jenko

    Jenko Well-Known Member

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    Yeah I have had two roofs replaced with suncorp and found them to be very good and that's the reason why I would like my son to go through them as well however I'm sure the replacement cost wouldn't be $370k for this property. I would like his premiums to be as low as possible without putting him at risk.
     
  6. Scott No Mates

    Scott No Mates Well-Known Member

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    @Jenko - What he's paying for the property is irrelevant.

    Has he given the correct description of the building ie age, construction materials, size, number of storeys, highset etc?

    Is it replacement value or agreed sum?
     
  7. willair

    willair Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    This is not advice but what i found with Suncorp if the rebuilds are set that high then so will be the insurance,all the land lord insurance we have with suncorp as i found over the past few months,if you lower the rebuilt costs but make sure you are still in the build range costs then the insurance costs even in flood zones can come down a lot in price,only takes one phone call..imho..
     
  8. Yson

    Yson Well-Known Member

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    Landlord insurance seems cheap than other insurers, any reasons or ??
     
  9. Jenko

    Jenko Well-Known Member

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    That's what we want to do lower the cost but suncorp are saying the minimum they will insure the property for is $370k no way in the world the property would be the dear to build but they won't insure it any less.

    I have a property in Rockhampton that's the same we bought it for $200k but suncorp minimum rebuilding is $480k. Good if it's a write off down the track but keeps the premiums high for a crap old house..
     
  10. HUGH72

    HUGH72 Well-Known Member

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    Without getting into the pros and cons of specialist property investment insurance I use Youi in Rockhampton after having a Suncorp policy there forever. I found that Suncorp's rebuild cost's too high and hence their premiums.From memory I cut my premiums there by $500 per property. I have also made a claim with both companies, Suncorp is gold plated service at an equivalent price. Youi sent out an assessor and then paid out the claim. I had to coordinate the repairs.
    More work with Youi but over lots of properties the difference by changing insurers depending on location has saved me $5500-$6000 per year in premiums. Whether I get the same loss of rent provisions as some of the specialists doesn't concern me as I am always ahead.
    Elsewhere I also use QBE and Allianz. Insurance in regional Qld north of the Tropic of Capricorn is too expensive otherwise.
     
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  11. Matthew Savage

    Matthew Savage Well-Known Member

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    Look at the policy - in a total loss situation (e.g. big fire) the building sum insured usually has to cover:
    • Demolition & block clearing
    • Architect's fees to design replacement
    • Development approval consultants and fees
    • Actual building
    • Other re-establishment fees
    • The cost of re-housing the occupiers for the duration of all that.
    I'm not familiar with the area but I expect it would cost more than $225K to cover all that, even for a crappy house in poor condition. They can't re-build a crappy house if it is destroyed - it would need to be built to current building and design standards - so that would always cost more.
     
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  12. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

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    I've found Suncorp to be a huge disappointment when we had a claim. After refusing to cover us for water that came in from further up the hill (wasn't a flood) they had the gall to bump our next premium up by hundreds of dollars.

    I switched everything we have to Youi and saved thousands. We had a roof replaced and windows repaired after the big January storm two years ago. Youi handled it all quickly and professionally. We couldn't be happier.

    Like Hugh72 above I also don't worry too much about loss of rent because I have tenants who've never missed a payment in years. So I cannot comment on how Youi is regarding a loss of rent claim.
     
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  13. bread_boy

    bread_boy Well-Known Member

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    How do you guys come up with a replacement cost figure?
    I've been told to just use the figure (replacement cost) that is listed on the bank val.
    Interested to know how everyone else calculates this number?