Apia Landlord Insurance

Our Verdict

• Apia landlord insurance's 15% online discount is among the joint best offers we looked at, similar to Virgin, Budget Direct and Domain.
• It's good for those who don't work full-time. If you work less than 37 hours a week, you can get access to the Work Less Pay Less discount.

• You can pay monthly at no extra cost – lots of other landlord insurers don't do this.

_{Review by our insurance and innovations editor Gary Ross Hunter}

What does APIA landlord insurance cover?

• Building Only Insurance. When a policy mentions your home or a building, this includes pipes, cables, ducting, wires, switches, meters, fixed appliances, carports, patios, paved paths, driveways and other permanent fixtures (pools, spas, etc).
• Contents Only Insurance. Referring to property owned by you as the landlord or for which you are responsible, this includes carpets, curtains, blinds, furniture, furnishings, non-permanent light fittings, removable domestic appliances, utensils, swimming pools and their accessories.
• Combined Home & Contents Insurance. You can combine both policies for complete protection of your home and its contents.

Here's some of the main insured events it can cover you for:

APIA landlord insurance features

Standard features

APIA landlord insurance comes with a long list of inclusions it can cover you for when you make a claim for an insured event. These include:

• Loss of rent following an insured event
• Removal of debris
• Other repair/rebuilding costs (property cover only)
• Environmental improvements (property cover only)
• Damage to gardens and plants (property cover only)
• Storage of undamaged contents (contents cover only)

• Accidental breakage of glass
• Legal costs to recover unpaid rent
• Loss of rent - prevention of access
• Lock replacement (after theft of keys)
• Kitchen appliance heat (property cover only)
• Damage caused by emergency services (property cover only)

Optional add-ons

APIA doesn't offer many landlord add-ons compared to several other insurers. Some of its add-ons include:

• Loss of rent by tenant default. If your tenant stops paying rent or permanently leaves without notice, you will be covered for a period of 14 weeks
• Loss of rent by prevention of access
• Legal costs to recover unpaid rent

Exclusions

APIA's general exclusions are similar to most other insurers. You won't be covered for:

• Actions of the sea
• Aircraft shock waves
• Animals
• Biological, chemical, other pollutant or contaminants
• Building extensions, alterations or renovations
• Chips and scratches
• Computer virus or hacking

• Confiscation of damage by a legal authority
• Consequential losses or extra costs following an incident
• Defect, structural fault or design fault
• Deliberate or reckless acts or omissions
• Failing to take care or secure your home and contents
• Wear, tear, mould and gradual deterioration

This isn't an extensive list of APIA's general exclusions. You can find the full list on its PDS.

APIA landlord insurance complaints

We looked at home insurance complaint data from the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) between July to December 2020. The data explores different underwriters and compares their business size to the number of complaints processed.

When comparing insurers, keep in mind that insurers with a larger market share serve more customers so can potentially get more complaints.

Here's an overview of how APIA (which is underwritten by AAI) did. It includes other brands underwritten by AAI so keep in mind that the total number of complaints is not necessarily all for APIA:

• AAI is a very large provider so is likely to get more complaints than others; however, it received more complaints compared to other similar sized insurers, suggesting it's not good at providing a quality service.

• Out of the 673 complaints it received, 544 were escalated, meaning they could not be resolved internally.

Bottom line about APIA landlord insurance

APIA landlord insurance is good if you want a good discount, work less than 37 hours a week or want lots of features automatically included in your policy. However, its underwriter AAI did receive a high percentage of complaints in the period we looked at.

If you're not yet ready to take out a landlord insurance policy, you can compare others side-by-side here.

FAQs about APIA landlord insurance

• Who is eligible for a APIA landlord insurance policy?

  According to APIA's Target Market Determination (TMD) document, this product is suitable for:

  • Those who are over 50 years of age when taking out a policy.
  • Those who have a tenanted property or unit and want to insure it for a tenant's domestic use (this may also include the contents if the property is furnished with the landlord's items).
  • Those who have a home that meets underwriting criteria like having an acceptable building type, living in an acceptable postcode, and that your home is maintained.

• How do I make a claim with APIA landlord insurance?

  In the event of an incident involving loss or damage, take all reasonable measures to reduce or prevent further incidents, and contact any required emergency services on 000.
  Collect any releventant information, including reports and other documentation, and contact APIA online at www.apia.com.au/claims or over the phone on 13 50 50.
  Alternatively, you can visit your local branch to speak with a consultant.

APIA landlord insurance reviews

If you've held or currently hold an APIA landlord insurance policy, we'd love to hear from you. Your reviews help other Australians decide if APIA is right for them. Some reviews are from a survey commissioned by Finder.