How much does landlord insurance cost?

From our research, we found that landlord insurance costs $208 a month on average, but keep in mind that this is for a home that is worth $1,000,000, so your costs could be cheaper or more expensive, depending on how much your property is worth. The insurer you opt for can also make a big difference, as you'll see below.

Some landlord insurance policies have temporarily removed benefits such as rent default and a few others because of the pandemic. Make sure to check this with the insurer before deciding on a policy.

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Name	Product	Tenant Default and Damage	Loss of Rent	Accidental Damage	Sum Insured Safeguard	Cooling-off Period	Cheapest way to pay
Budget Direct Landlord Home & Contents Insurance		Optional	10% of the sum insured amount of your property			21 days	Annually	Save 30% on your first year's premium when you buy a combined home and contents policy online. T&Cs apply.	Get a quote View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Youi Landlord Building and Contents Insurance		Optional	The reasonable rental amount for up to 12 months			20 days	Annually	Cover for investment property from fire, theft and numerous weather events.	Get a quote View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Seniors Landlord Home & Contents Insurance			The lesser of: 12 months rent, or 10% of your building sum insured, or the lost rent			14 days	Annually	Buy online and save up to 15% on landlord building and contents policies in the first year. T&Cs apply.	Get a quote View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Woolworths Landlord Building and Contents Insurance			The lesser of: 12 months rent, or 10% of your building sum insured, or the lost rent			14 days	Annually	Get a quote View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Qantas Landlord Home and Contents Insurance		Optional	10% of the sum insured amount of your property			21 days	Annually	Earn up to 20,000 Qantas Points when you apply. Points awarded will be based on your premium. T&Cs & exclusions apply.	Get a quote View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Landlord Select Building & Contents Insurance		Optional	Optional			21 days	Annually	View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
CommBank Landlord Building & Contents Insurance			52 weeks	Optional		21 days	Monthly or Annually	Save 10% on a combined home and contents insurance policy	View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Over Fifty Landlord Building & Contents Insurance		Optional	12 months			14 days	Monthly or Annually	Get 10% off your first year’s premium when you buy online.	View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Catholic Church Landlord Building & Contents Insurance		Optional	12 months			14 days	Monthly or Annually	Sign up online and get 10% off your first year’s premium.	View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...

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Brands still offering landlord insurance

As of 6 July 2022, the following brands are still offering new landlord insurance policies. All existing policies should be respected, but it's best to check directly with your insurer.

Provider	Are they still offering landlord insurance?	Are they offering tenant default options?	Apply
	Yes	Yes	Get quote
	Yes	Yes	Get quote
	No	No	More info
	Yes	Yes	More info
	Yes	Yes	More info
	Yes	Yes	More info
	Yes	Yes	More info
	Yes	Yes	More info
	Yes	Yes	More info
	Yes	Yes	More info
	No	No	Get quote
	Yes	Yes	More info
	No	No	More info
	Yes	Yes	More info
	Yes	Yes	More info
	Yes	No	More info
	Yes	No	More info
	Yes	Yes	More info
	Yes	In some cases	More info
	Yes	No	Get quote

How much does landlord insurance cost?

The cost of landlord insurance can vary based on where the property is located, the type of property you are renting (such as a house or a unit) and how secure the building is. Even your choice of insurer can have a dramatic effect on how much you pay.

The following table shows just how dramatically your landlord insurance costs can differ from one insurer to the next.

These prices are based on the same 3-bedroom house in NSW, but that doesn’t mean the more expensive insurers in this example will be the most expensive one for your particular property. Each property is different and each insurer has a different way of calculating risk.

	Monthly	Yearly
Budget Direct	$155.39	$1,574.54
Virgin Money	$158.48	$1,609.78
Westpac	$190.65	$2,287.84
GIO	$253.70	$2,718.28
Woolworths	$194.85	$2,152.13
Suncorp	$269.88	$2,682.11

• Learn more about our methodology

  • We obtained these landlord insurance quotes in 2018 for the same 3-bedroom home in Baulkham Hills, NSW. The 3-bedroom, 1-story, freestanding house was built in 1980.
  • It sits on flat ground and has brick veneer walls, a terracotta tiled roof, no verandas and windows secured by deadlocks.
  • We chose $1 million worth of building cover and $50,000 worth of contents cover with an excess of $500.
  • It fetches $1,000 a week in rent.

How much is that as a percentage of your rental income?

Using the example from the table, you can get landlord insurance on a 3-bedroom house in Sydney, NSW for as little as $155.39 per month.

If you fetched $1,000 per week in rent, as per the example using the 3-bedroom home in Baulkham Hills, that would equal $4,345 per month in rental income.

So that means you would be paying 6.5% of your rental income on landlord insurance:

That’s a small price to pay considering how much you stand to lose if a fire destroys your entire home.

Frequently asked questions

• Is landlord insurance worth it?

  As a landlord, your property is exposed to more risk than the normal household for obvious reasons. Just think, if the worst happened to your property, would you be able to comfortably cover those costs? If not, then landlord insurance is worth it.

• What can a landlord claim for?

  As a landlord, you have many of the same risks as other homeowners, plus a few more related to your tenants and your income. Landlord insurance can protect you for all of it. Here are some of the most common reasons you might claim, according to speciality landlord insurer, Terri Scheer:

  1. Loss of rental income. According to Terri Scheer, more than one third of all claims occur when tenants default on their rent. Landlord insurance could help you claim back some of that lost revenue. There are specific conditions that need to be met and you'll need to check with your insurer what circumstances you'll be able to use this option
  2. Damage to your building or contents. This can include accidental damage like the tenant banging up your walls while moving a couch or malicious damage like a tenant that vandalises your property to get back at you for something. Not all policies cover accidents, but some will for an extra charge.
  3. Water damage. This refers to water that escapes from burst or leaking pipes or from leaking appliances. If the tenant caused the leak due to an accident, you may not be covered unless you have additional accident cover.
  4. A tenant's death. A tenant's passing could create a host of expenses for you, including finding a place for the tenant's property and losing out on rent while the person's affairs are put in order. Landlord insurance can help you with all of it.