Is there such a thing as trustworthy insurance. I'm skeptical with products i don't know much about especially heightened by the odd story where places are insured and they burn down and the insurance company won't pay because the fine print said not to fire from electrical switches pre 2007 or some other silly fine print.
What insurance companies have people come to trust and be reliable. I have two properties i would like to insure. What are the pro's and cons? can i get a discounted package to combines two and other subsequent properties in the future?
I'm country oriented so i want something i can communicate with face to face on a level i can understand and a simple policy covering rent lose as well… Something that's been around for a while and solid preferably…. has anyone tried Elders?
Most companies would be reliable.
You just have to read the fine print! They don't pay out for what is not covered.
Terryw | Structuring Lawyers Pty Ltd / Loan Structuring Pty Ltd
http://www.Structuring.com.au
Email MeLawyer, Mortgage Broker and Tax Advisor (Sydney based but advising Aust wide) http://www.Structuring.com.au
Hi Jaffasoft. With insurance you have to be careful of what is excluded. The best insurance policy is one that is simple and easy to read, with very few exclusions. You do get what you pay for with insurance, so if you go for price then you will get a complex insurance product that not even an expert will know what you are covered for. It is best to get a broker who specialises in Landlords insurance, as they will know the policies well and can advise you on the best policy to suit your situation and needs and it is worth paying for the peace of mind. If the broker does not ask you enough questions they are trying to sell you a product or they do not know enough about landlords insurance and you should try another one. The internet is a great place to find a broker who specialises in landlords insurance. The insurance companies produce a product and it is up to us to ensure the product suits our needs, it is not for the insurance company to do this. Also be careful of the policies that do not include all the covers and you have to add the covers on. These policies start out at a good price and then can be the most expensive on the market after you have added it all in.
Cheers and happy insurance hunting.hi jaffasoft
mate i work in the insurance industry and have done for my whole career. I recently did some homework comparing landlord policies for my own properties and there are some significant differences between insurers. At the end of the day, people whinge about insurance companies but these people never open their policy booklets to understand what's covered and whats not. Just take the time to read them..anything an insurance company will exclude is listed in the policy. it is also important that you do not trust any information provided by anyone in a call centre. these staff just guess answers . get on websites and actually download and read the policy wordings.the insurers i compared were QBE, CGU, Suncorp, Comminsure, NRMA, Aon and Westpac. I ended up with the westpac policies which for me had the best cover and was also really good on price. good luck with your research.
ps the biggest difference between the policys that I noticed was in relation to excess. "Stuff covered" was fairly indentical. it's also worth checking what is covered by your body corp insurer if you own a unit
Thank you. Thanks for your post!
That's right i don't want to whinge about it later on i want to know i am responsible for the decision i made and lump it later on if i got it wrong.
Your post sounds like a credible one! What kind of things was it that you compared that you wanted in for your investment properties?
well insurance is all about risk so I thought about what risks I felt were "more likely" than others.
The main risks I felt I had were not things like fire or theft, the main risks were:
-tenant default ie skipping town or not paying rent
-damage to property by rogue tenantSo I took time to read the sections of the various wordings as to what is covered when this happens. I found that some insurers charge a punative excess (which means you pay 2x excesses) and there were also conditions on the amount of weeks rent covered and so forth.
Also, I think all major banks sell insurance so in addition to my earlier list of providers you could check with the various banks too. You will find you can obtain quotes from most of their websites.
Also look at ability to pay monthly at no extra charge.
good luck.Hi Jaffasoft
With insurance you should be aware that insurers will do what they can not to pay a claim. Even if you have the best policy wording it does not mean they will pay the claim. There are more insurers than what has been noted in these posts. There are firms that specialise in landlords insurance and they are constantly dealing with claims and know what they are doing when it comes to claims. There is nothing more frustrating than having to deal with people who do not know the insurance product they are selling and then cannot handle your claim. I also work in insurance. And I still recommend you find a broker who knows landlords insurance. When you have a claim, and you will, they will handle it for you and ensure the insurance company pays the claim. I agree with Noddynol, the greatest risk is tenants defaulting on rent payments and tenant damage. I was involved in a claim a few years ago that involved tenant default and tenant dmage. The claim was over $10,000, and the insurance company paid it. You should also consider the lost rent while the house is being repaired. CheersElders would not insure the property (strange!). So i read through the policy and applied online at Westpac at a $10,000 excess. Then i took a stroll over to NAB the same morning, to see how the mortgage application was going and dumped the Westpac policy in front of the manager. He went through and compared everything and got the excess down to $900 and a cheaper deal for the same amount covered. A free period covering untill settlement. So i went with that based on it being linked in with the same mortgage account for convenience as well.
Thanks for your help.Being on this topic, just wondering which insurance company is best for life insurance? Is it always best to keep all your insurance with the same company (incl bank where your mortgage is) to get a better deal? One of my friend's husband had his life cover done recently with Real Life Insurance, he initially wanted a family life cover but unfortunately due to his body mass he wasn't eligible for it so they put him on an accidental death and disability cover instead. I guess all insurance companies have different policies and different ways of offering the best possible products due to a competitive market. So what can anyone suggest is the best option?
Howdy all!
Just wondering if anyone knows of an AWESOME broker in Brisbane area – landlord & income protection
Oh …. and when researching landlord insurance on the topic of loss of rent – ask if they will cover if there was no tenant in there. We brought a property, 1 week after settlement a storm damaged quite a bit of it. Had a tenant application in place, but couldn't accept because the property was unliveable. Provided building inspection report and supporting photos as evidence there was nothing wrong with the roof – but insurer would not pay loss of rent or roof repair (as we were negligent ….. yeah right!).
Cheerio
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