If you rent out your property, you look to make sure that your units are attractive to prospective tenants, while making sure that your current renters are satisfied with their living space. While it’s recommended that tenants get their own renters insurance to cover the belongings within their home, it’s important for landlords to have coverage to protect the building as a whole. Let’s take a look at these policies, how much they could cost you, and how you can get the most from your landlord insurance.
What is landlord insurance?
Landlord insurance policies are taken out by property owners to cover various risks that come with renting their properties out to applicants. These policies are designed to protect building owners in the event of numerous circumstances, such as:
- Theft and burglary by renters and their guests
- Property damage
- Loss of rent due to a tenant defaulting on their monthly payments
- Legal expenses from tenant disputes
- Fire damage
- Flood damage
- Loss of rent if a property is uninhabitable
While all landlord policies are different, it’s important to check the terms and conditions under rental property insurance. Landlords want the peace of mind of knowing that any loss is a covered loss, but there are exclusions they should be aware of regarding insurance coverage. For example, some insurance companies exclude loss of rent from policies as it relates to the COVID-19 pandemic. You’ll also need additional coverage for personal items you have on your property such as lawn equipment or even just furniture in the lobby. If you’re asking yourself, how much is landlord insurance? Read on.
Breaking Down the Cost
Landlord insurance, like renters insurance and other forms of coverage, can vary in cost by the level of protection you get from an insurance provider. As a property owner, you may decide to only cover the risk of property damage. You’ll want to add contents insurance to your landlord policy to accommodate any furniture or appliances that you have purchased for the rentals. If you’re willing to allow pets into your buildings, that’s an additional cost for insurance.
Depending on the location of your building, you may have to look out for the best price when it comes to special coverage for flooding, bushfires, and other natural disasters. If your building is in an area where crime may raise some liability issues, you could face an additional cost for additional protection by insurance companies. Depending on your landlord insurance policy, you may be able to choose to cover just your tenants, or your tenants and their guests. If only your tenants are covered, any damage or theft by the people they invite into the home won’t be covered, so be sure to weigh that risk when looking at insurance premiums.
Conditions and Exclusions
When trying to get the most of your landlord insurance, it’s important to remember that there are different legal requirements in different states across Australia. Policy inclusions may differ on minimum coverage when it comes to loss of income or a physical injury suffered on your property. The average cost can also be swayed by whether or not you are offering long-term rentals or short-term properties.
It’s important to also be aware of potential policy exclusions including malicious damage and tenant default brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. You may want to also have coverage for tenants’ personal belongings to be on the safe side in the event that a maintenance issue in your building is the cause of damage within a unit. Extensive coverage is the safest move, but the price of a landlord policy should be enough to give you the peace of mind to protect your interests, without passing on the expenses of insurance to renters.
