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Landlord insurance can provide cover for your investment property from loss and damage and tenant issues, helping you protect your rental income.
See the most frequently asked questions about landlord insurance, including what's covered, what's not covered, ways to lower your premium, and why it's important.
Landlord insurance basics
What is landlord insurance?
Landlord insurance is specifically designed to help protect your investment property from loss or damage when renting out your unit, apartment, or house. Landlord insurance can help provide protection for insured events such as theft or damage to your investment property that can lead to a loss of rental income.disclaimer
You can choose your Landlord insurance to provide cover for:
- Building cover only: coverage for insured events that damage your property's structure.
- Contents cover only: coverage for insured events related to the damage or theft of household goods that you own and have provided for your tenants use, within your rental property. This can also include things like carpets and curtains.
- Combined building and contents: coverage for insured events related to both buildings and contents. For example, both your investment property and the contents inside it have coverage if they are damaged in a flood, fire, cyclone, earthquake, storm or other events.
Landlord insurance can also help provide protection for the risks that come with renting out your property. ANZ Landlord Insurance provides loss of rent cover if your rental property is so damaged by an insured event that it can't be lived in.disclaimer
Legal liability cover is also included with ANZ Landlord Insurance, which insures you for claims made against you if you are legally liable for the death or injury of another person, or the loss or damage of another person's property. The cover varies depending on if you have buildings cover, contents cover or both.
For a full list of events covered by ANZ Landlord Insurance, please refer to the ANZ Landlord Insurance Product Disclosure Statement – issued by CGU Insurance.
Why take out landlord insurance?
Many property investors take out landlord insurance to obtain a level of protection for their investment properties. Landlord insurance can help cover some of the costs should you need to repair your investment property, or replace contents damaged or lost in insured events.
If you have a mortgage on your investment property some lenders may require proof of insurance as a part of their loan settlement requirements, to ensure they have some protection against the financial risk caused by unexpected damage or loss to your property.
How does landlord insurance work?
Landlord insurance is a financial product designed to help protect your investment property from certain risks associated with renting, such as theft or damage caused by a tenant, as well as natural disaster-related risks such as bushfires, floods, cyclones, earthquakes and storms.
When you take out a landlord insurance policy you make a payment, also described as paying a premium, to your insurer, to cover you against the insured events outlined in your policy. You should carefully read any relevant policy documents such as your PDS to understand what's covered and any limits, conditions or exclusions that apply. If your rental property is impacted by an insured event, you can submit a claim against the event. Your insurer will assess whether the event is covered, and then pay out the relevant portion of the losses covered under your policy. If your claim is accepted, your insurer can choose to arrange for repairers, builders or suppliers to repair or rebuild your rental property, pay you the reasonable cost of what it would cost us to repair or rebuild your rental property or pay you the building or contents sum insured.
You can select landlord insurance to cover insured events relating to the buildings only, contents only, or both.
ANZ Landlord Insurance includes cover for rent if your rental property is so damaged by an insured event that it can't be lived in.disclaimer
For more information on how landlord insurance works, including what is and what is not covered under ANZ Landlord Insurance, please refer to the ANZ Landlord Insurance Product Disclosure Statement – issued by CGU Insurance.
Is landlord insurance a requirement if I have an investment property?
If you have a mortgage on your property, most banks require you to take out a building insurance policy regardless of whether it is an owner occupied or an investment property. This helps protect you, as well as the financial institution, against the risk of loss and damage to the property from insured events..
Check with your mortgage provider if building insurance is a requirement under your mortgage or home loan policy. Let your insurer and mortgage provider know if your circumstances change, such as if you decide to start renting out your primary residence.
What is the difference between landlord insurance, and home insurance?
What may distinguish landlord insurance from home insurance is that it provides protection for problems unique to landlords. Like home insurance, you can select landlord insurance to provide cover for your building, contents or both. ANZ Landlord Insurance provides coverage against the following insured events:
- loss of rent should your building become unliveable due to loss or damage from an insured eventdisclaimer
- replacing stolen, lost or damaged keys and and/or recoding of locks and barrelsdisclaimer
- theft and damage by a tenant
For a full list of events covered by ANZ Landlord Insurance, as well as the terms, conditions and exclusions, please refer to the ANZ Landlord Insurance Product Disclosure Statement – issued by CGU Insurance.
Learn more about the differences between landlord, and home and contents insurance:
Do I need building insurance for a strata unit?
Strata insurance provides cover for shared or common property in a strata-managed complex, owners' corporation or body corporate-managed complex. A strata policy normally covers properties (such as apartments or units) within one building or complex. This policy generally covers external areas such as balconies, common-area gardens, intercoms and garages.
If your investment property is a strata-managed apartment or townhouse, you may already have cover for building insurance. It's important to check with your strata or body corporate to determine what's covered under strata and what areas you are responsible for.
Generally, buildings cover for landlord insurance, does not cover strata-managed buildings. However, ANZ Landlord Insurance can cover the contents owned by you contained in strata-managed properties under a contents policy.
It's worth noting that strata laws and strata insurance differ state by state. It's worth doing some research to understand what you're covered for under your state legislation.
Cover details
What is included under landlord insurance?
What you are covered for will vary depending on your policy and level of cover. A landlord policy can help provide cover for the costs associated with the loss or damage to your buildings and/or contents from an insurable event.
ANZ Landlord Insurance can help provide cover for the costs incurred from damage or loss to buildings and/or contents arising from insured events including:
- accidental breakage of glass such as fixed glass in a window or mirror
- burglary, break-in or theft (including by your tenant, anyone else who normally lives in your rental property, or anyone who enters your rental property with the consent of your tenant or anyone else who normally lives in your rental property)
- deliberate or intentional act (including vandalism and a malicious act)disclaimer
- damage caused by natural events, such as a bushfire, flood, cyclone, earthquake or stormdisclaimer
- impact damage, such as damage caused by a falling treedisclaimer
ANZ Landlord Insurance includes cover for loss of rent if your rental property is so damaged by an insured event that it can't be lived in.disclaimer You can also choose to add the rent default optional benefit, to help provide coverage in the event your tenant were to stop paying rent.disclaimer
ANZ Landlord Insurance also includes legal liability cover, which insures you for claims made against you if you are legally liable for the death or injury of another person, or the loss or damage of another person's property.
Cover varies depending on if you have buildings cover, contents cover or both.
For a full list of events covered by ANZ Landlord Insurance, as well as the terms, conditions and exclusions, please refer to the ANZ Landlord Insurance Product Disclosure Statement – issued by CGU Insurance.
What is not covered under landlord insurance?
Landlord insurance doesn't cover everyday expenses involved in owning an investment property. This includes when your property doesn't have anyone living in it and you are not receiving any rental income, general wear and tear of your property's structures or fixtures, or regular maintenance issues, such as a plumber's bill for unclogging a sink.
Other exclusions include:
- Furniture, clothing and personal items, such as laptops and phones owned by the tenant
- Previous damage that hasn't been repaired
As a landlord, it's important you have a rental agreement (also called a lease) in place so both parties understand the terms of the lease and exactly what's covered. If you have a tenant, then having a rental agreement is a requirement to be eligible to claim for many of the covers under ANZ Landlord Insurance.
For a full list of exclusions and events not covered by ANZ Landlord Insurance, please refer to the ANZ Landlord Insurance Product Disclosure Statement – issued by CGU.
Does landlord insurance cover unpaid rent?
Rental protection coverage varies between insurers, so it is recommended that you check your policy. ANZ Landlord Insurance has the optional benefit of Rent Default cover, which provides cover if your tenant stops paying rent, leaves your rental property without giving you notice, or dies if they are the sole Tenant.disclaimer
As a landlord, it's important you have a rental agreement in place, so both parties understand the terms of the lease and exactly what’s covered. Having a rental agreement is a requirement to be eligible for many of the covers under ANZ Landlord Insurance.
For more information on the terms and conditions, please refer to the ANZ Landlord Insurance Product Disclosure Statement – issued by CGU Insurance.
Short-term and holiday rentals
What's the difference between a short-term and a long-term rental?
A long-term rental has a formal lease where the entire property is rented out as a residence and not for short-term holiday purposes.
A short-term rental (sometimes called a 'casual let' such as an Airbnb or Stayz) is where you rent the entire property to paying guests for short-term holiday purposes. The rental period under a casual let is usually less than 3 months.
I'd like to rent my house I live in as a holiday home. Is this covered under my insurance?
Check with your insurer to see exactly what's covered. What you are covered for will depend on your policy and how you are looking to rent out your property, including for how long.
I'd like to rent out my investment property as a short-term holiday home. Is this covered under Landlord Insurance and how is my policy affected?
An investment property used for short term rentals such as Airbnb and Stayz is not able to be covered under ANZ Landlord Insurance.
Some short-term rental platforms, such as Airbnb, offer public liability and property insurance for hosts. Be sure to check the terms and conditions to know what you are covered for.
Costs and claims
Is landlord insurance tax deductible?
According to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), expenses related to the management or maintenance of your investment property are generally eligible for a tax deduction.disclaimer This includes your landlord insurance premiums.disclaimer
Other expenses that may be eligible for an immediate tax deduction include:disclaimer
- advertising to find new tenants
- body corporate fees and charges
- council rates, water charges and land tax
- regular property maintenance, such as cleaning, gardening and pest control
- repairs or maintenance related to wear and tear as a result of renting out the property
- property agent's fees and commission
- some legal expenses
- interest payments on investment loans used to purchase a rental property
You can only claim a deduction for these expenses if you actually pay for them and they are not paid for by the tenant.
Learn more about tax-deductable rental expenses:
- Rental expenses you can claim now
- Rental expenses you can claim over several years
- Rental expenses you can't claim
If you are unsure about the tax consequences of your policy, seek professional advice from a tax adviser.
How do I make a landlord insurance claim?
Contact your insurer as soon as possible.
Making a landlord insurance claim can come at an extremely stressful time. With 24/7 claims lodgement over the phone, help is with ANZ Landlord Insurance customers when you need it most.
Your landlord insurance provider will ask you a series of questions about the loss or damage. To avoid delays, make sure you've got together the necessary supporting information before submitting your claim:
- Have your policy number handy
- Gather the date and details of the event that's led to you making a claim
- Collect any supporting documents. This may include photos of damaged items or receipts of purchased items. Depending on the nature of your claim, you may need to provide a copy of a current and valid tenancy agreement
- In the event of a theft, you should contact the police to report the incident. The police will provide an event report number which you may need for your claim
Depending on the extent of the loss or damage, an assessor may be sent to inspect your property. They may also arrange for qualified tradespeople, such as builders, plumbers or electricians to inspect your property and to provide quotes for repairs. Alternatively, you may be asked to obtain your own quotes for repairs.
It is important not to authorise any repairs to the property or replace any contents until talking to your insurance provider.
For more information on how to make a landlord insurance claim, including how claims are settled and associated conditions, please refer to the ANZ Landlord Insurance Product Disclosure Statement – issued by CGU Insurance.
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