If you’re looking to invest in property to rent it, landlord insurance will be an essential purchase. For a reasonable outlay, it’s possible to cover yourself for a variety of risks, including building damage, rental default, contents damage and malicious damage carried out by tenants. A landlord insurance quote needs to be tailored to meet your coverage needs. Otherwise, you could be left holding an expensive repair bill. Let’s take a closer look at the kinds of coverage available and why you need it.

What Do You Need for Landlord Insurance?

Every investor has a different requirement, so it isn’t easy to provide a catchall answer. The quality and costs of insurance can vary wildly, so you need to ensure that you’re dealing with a good insurance company. Check on how claims are handled, many companies now operate a 24 hour hotline, and you need to know what is required in order to make a claim. As for coverage, you need to be covered for acts of nature, natural disasters can cause a lot of damage in Australia, key coverage items, should be storms, fire, flood, tsunami, earthquake, and civil unrest. If your property is located in an area where any of these possibilities exist you need to ensure that you have insurance cover.

Secure Your Property:

The next thing you need to consider is buildings cover and what it will actually cover. This policy should be able to protect the actual structure of your property, including fixed appliance, gas lines, plumbing systems, pipes, cables, fixtures and fittings, exterior blinds and certain external structures. Good building insurance should provide cover for partial or even complete destruction of your property. This should also include, a loss of rental revenue, while the building is uninhabitable. Any damage caused by tenants and/or their guests may also be covered, but some insurance providers could charge an additional premium.

Contents Insurance:

Even if, you’re not renting out a property that is furnished, you need to be clear on your insurance posture regarding contents. This insurance covers any items that would not be viewed as part of the building structure, such as curtains, carpets, furniture, appliances, internal blinds, loose floor coverings and light fittings. Typically, contents insurance only covers items that are actually owned by the landlord and not the tenant. Contents insurance for a unit can be extended to cover fittings and fixtures that would ordinarily be covered by buildings insurance. Certain white goods can be subject to claim limits, and this can also apply to any contents that are stored outside.

If they need landlord insurance, Perth property investors should contact us here at GSK Insurance. We provide high quality insurance for our clients, including landlord insurance. Australia can be a lucrative place to invest in property for rental purposes, but of course, there are risks that need to be managed. Our team is standing by to discuss your insurance requirements in greater detail and to answer any other questions that you may have.