Landlord Insurance

Discussion in 'Loans & Mortgage Brokers' started by redchair, 6th Nov, 2015.

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  1. redchair

    redchair Well-Known Member

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    Perth
    Hello everyone.
    My first post so please be gentle.
    I've searched the forum's for "Landlord insurance" but have not been able to find any lengthy discussion on that topic specifically.

    My background is
    35 years old
    Wife and 2 kids
    2 IP's + PPOR in my name only

    Recently I received notification from Comminsure I think it was, stating that my policy for one of my investment properties was about to lapse. I thought this was odd, as I had never dealt with them. To cut a short story long, my bank has changed their preferred insurance provider from Vero to Comminsure. As the policies are lapsing, CI is sending out notices and picking up the customers it appears.

    Seeing as I got my first IP at a young age I had no idea what I was doing (still don't). Landlord insurance was just something my bank made me take out in order to secure the loan, and it sounded like a good idea at the time :)

    So now the policy for that first IP is due to expire and I am guessing I should look around and understand what it is I am buying. I'm also not impressed that my bank can decided to throw all its customers into a different shark pool. I am guessing there is some kind of financial incentive for being able to bring a large swath of customers like that.

    So I would like to ask the community here a couple of questions if I may, in the hope that you would share your experience to help myself and possibly others make informed decisions or at the very least give us an idea of what we need to be thinking about.

    1) Who do you get your Landlord insurance through, and was there any particular reason you chose them?

    2) Have you ever had to make a claim? What did you learn through the process? Good/Bad experiences?

    3) Do you have any advice on what I should look for in a policy? For example, some may not include cost of demolition and removal of rubble if it burns to the ground and is in a condemned state.

    I thank you for reading and I hope someone will be able to share their real world knowledge :)

    RedChair
     
  2. Tranquilo

    Tranquilo Well-Known Member

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    Hi and welcome. BMT and Terry sheer.
    I myself use BMT landlord platinum insurance.
     
  3. redchair

    redchair Well-Known Member

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    Thanks for the welcome Tranquilo.
    I actually have a Terry Scheer tab open in my browser. I was just doing their online quote for a rough estimate but I need to give their policies a good reading before I commit.

    I'll have to check out BMT now too. Thank you :)
     
  4. Mumbai

    Mumbai Well-Known Member

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    BMT?? Did you mean EBM?
    I am with EBM. No issues thus far
     
  5. Tranquilo

    Tranquilo Well-Known Member

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    Lol yes to early in the morning.
     
  6. Azazel

    Azazel Well-Known Member

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    Hi @redchair , depending on where they're located, worth noting that Suncorp has a 15% multi policy discount for 3 properties.
     
  7. JohnPropChat

    JohnPropChat Well-Known Member

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    I am with EBM(Building + LL) as well. Note that EBM doesn't do flood cover but your IPs may or may not need it.

    Was with CommInsure before that - their premiums are much higher and their LL policy didn't seem as comprehensive as EBM.

    Instead of searching for landlord insurance try searching for EBM, Terri Scheer etc. Plenty of discussions.
     
  8. Paul@PAS

    Paul@PAS Tax, Accounting + SMSF + All things Property Tax Business Plus Member

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    LL policies are not a lender requirement. But a building policy is. LL policies insure YOU against special events only a landlord may have
    :
    - Loss of rent (unpaid, runners etc)
    - Damage clauses are more specific than an ord policy
    - etc

    Check the names policy providers who are specialists - EBM / TS. I have loads of tax clients who choose EBM for their consistently lower pricing v's others. Terry Scheer gets + - reviews as a policy specialist. Beware of mainstream policies like IAG etc. The PDS and wbsirte often compares benefits of policy types. They can easily explain what you cant understand.

    LL policies often add a few hundred to annual costs. A weeks lost rent will be more. Tax deductible. The bank policy has a decent comm built in I would bet.

    Most LL policies do NOT insure the building. The building policy is a tack on. The debris allowance, rebuild, redesign, site costs , =and cover is a building policy not a LL policy cover. The LL policy may pay a year of rent lump sum for a total loss.

    Many LL specialists have a pigeon pair of policies that dovetail each other well.. Be careful of using different insurers for gaps / overlap.
     
    JohnPropChat likes this.
  9. melbournian

    melbournian Well-Known Member

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    i've used Australian unity and have made claims before which were quite straightforward. They seem ok and are only couple hundred bucks a month.They do cover the building.
     
  10. SeafordSunshine

    SeafordSunshine Well-Known Member

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    Perhaps also look at GIO building and landlord insurers. Get all the policies together and see if they all tick the same boxes.
    1.If a tenant defaulted, how long would it take before they paid up? Til when?
    2.Does the tenant have to be on a lease all the time?
    3.If malicious damage occurred, what is covered?
    4. How do you make a claim?
    5.Pets. Do they cover them? (Pet damage)
    I hope this helps!
     
  11. Xenia

    Xenia Well-Known Member

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    TS, ebm, pip, anything that is a specialist in investment properties.

    Zero excess on arrears. Most claims are arrears based.

    You don't need quote as landlords insurance is flat fee - unless you are using them for building insurance too.

    Stay away from the non specialist companies aami, sgic etc - good for home and contents on ppor but suck at investment property claims.

    I've done lots of claims.
     
  12. pinewood

    pinewood Well-Known Member

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    @redchair When I searched for the same answer, I found most people were recommending EBM or Terri Scheer. My property manager provided a Terri Scheer flyer but I ended up going with EBM. EBM has a special rate for users of this forum.
     
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  13. redchair

    redchair Well-Known Member

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    Thank you very much for all the replies!

    At the moment I'm at the hospital with the wife. In my original post I said I had 2 kids, well that was because number 2 is almost here. Now she's even closer. I suspect we'll have number 2 tonight or early tomorrow morning.

    When it's all said and done and I've got more time I'll have a good solid look at the recommendations.

    Thank you for sharing!
     
    Tranquilo likes this.
  14. Michael_X

    Michael_X Mortgage Broker Business Member

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    Most PMs I talk to recommend EBM and Terri Scheer, so there is alot of merit there.

    I have my NSW properties with EBM and QLD with Terri Scheer as EBM don't cover flood.

    Cheers,
    Michael
     
  15. Mick C

    Mick C Well-Known Member

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    Most of my insuracne is via GIO, decent cover/flood cover and good pricing, most importantly they cover block of units under one policy which is a chuck of my portfolio.
     
  16. D.T.

    D.T. Specialist Property Manager Business Member

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    EBM is my favorite.
    I have access to online portal for signing clients up and for doing claims. Process has been quite smooth.

    I talk to the state manager fairly regularly which is handy for left field questions.

    No excess on rent related claims.

    Longer durations of cover than TS. Cheaper premiums too, especially when combined with my agency's discount code.
     
  17. Nimble

    Nimble Well-Known Member

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    I am with EBM too. From my research they seemed pretty good compared to many others. Just started with them so don't have any feedback.
     
  18. redchair

    redchair Well-Known Member

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    Hello everyone!

    I've made the decision and decided to go with EBM/Rentcover after researching a few places based on other peoples feedback. I've also looked at a few other


    How do we access this special rate? I notice online there is a spot to put an agent's promotion code. I am guessing we put something in there?

    Also, how do you find out how old your house is? I am not sure if it affects the premium or not but they do ask the age of the house and because they ask, I am obliged to put in the correct year of construction rather than a guess.

    Thanks everyone for your help. Its very much appreciated.

    RedChair

    :)
     
  19. pinewood

    pinewood Well-Known Member

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    Type in Somersoft in the promo code and it should do it!
     
  20. JacM

    JacM VIC Buyer's Agent - Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat Business Member

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    Remember you need the following components:

    Building insurance (should include a rebuild amount that is enough not only to rebuild the existing dwelling & fencing & gardens in the event of it being destroyed eg by fire, but also enough money to get demolition permit, carry out the demolition, remove debris from site, get plans drawn up for new dwelling, and all fees council charge for permits).

    Contents (things like carpets and window coverings are not considered to be part of the building)

    Public Liability (good luck securing a property manager if you don't have this)

    Landlord (for malicious damage, rental default, and rehousing of tenant if property was uninhabitable).

    If the property is in a body corporate (aka owners corporation) the building, contents and public liability are probably already covered under the fees you pay them. Check.