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NRMA Landlord Insurance Review

Cover for floods and if your tenant leaves without notice: some of the reasons NRMA landlord insurance could be right for you.

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Our Verdict

It's good for peace of mind. If your tenant stops paying rent or leaves without giving you notice, NRMA will cover you for lost rent for up to $5,000.
It automatically covers flood, rainwater run-off and storm surge — not many other insurers do that.
It's good for rewarding loyalty — the longer you stay, the bigger the discount you get.

It doesn't do sign up offers or discounts like other brands.

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

We don't currently have this brand on our panel. But don't fret! You can head to the NRMA website or compare a bunch of other landlord insurance companies with finder.

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What does NRMA landlord insurance cover?

NRMA landlord insurance comes with these options:

Building Cover. Protect your property with Building Cover. Cover extends to pipes, cables, ducting, wires, switches, meters, fixed appliances, carports, patios, paved paths, driveways and other permanent fixtures (pools, spas, etc).
Contents Cover. Take care of everything not nailed down with Contents Cover. As well as all the expected items such as entertainment equipment and kitchen appliances, your carpets, curtains, blinds, furniture, furnishings, non-permanent light fittings, removable domestic appliances, utensils, swimming pools and their accessories are all included too.
Building & Contents Cover. Take care of the rafters and everything underneath with Home & Contents Cover, combining both policies for your property and its contents, as well as legal liability of up to $20 million. You can also select to remove certain insured events to lower your premium, though you will not be protected against those events, should they happen.

It comes with a 21-day cooling-off period which is the same as most insurers. You'll also need to pay one of the following excesses depending on what your claim involves: basic, earthquake or special.

What do I get with a NRMA landlord insurance policy?

Standard features
Exclusions

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Standard features

If an insured event like a fire, storm or theft occurs, NRMA can cover you for the following:

If a tenant stops paying rent
Lost rent during repairs
Demolishing and removing debris
Keys and locks
Locating the cause of damage

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Exclusions

Specific exclusions may depend on your personal circumstances or the current state of your home and contents. Be sure to speak with your insurance broker about exclusions before you take out any policy. General exclusions can include loss, damage or injury as a result of:

Tenant neglect, carelessness, poor housekeeping and hygienic living
Rust, mould, depreciation or wear and tear
Earth movements unrelated to earthquakes
Actions of the sea
Atmospheric conditions or extreme temperatures
Vermin or insects

Tree roots, felling or lopping
Lawful seizure or illegal activities you are involved in
Mechanical, structural or electrical failure
Business interruption, consequential financial loss or other non-financial loss (inconvenience, distress, etc)
Intentional and deliberate actions by you or someone acting with your permission

For a full list of exclusions, make sure you take a look at NRMA's PDS.

NRMA landlord insurance complaints

We looked at home insurance complaint data from the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) between July to December 2020. The data breaks down 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 NRMA (which is underwritten by Insurance Australia Limited) did. It includes other brands underwritten by IAI so keep in mind that the total number of complaints is not necessarily all for NRMA:

Here are some things we noticed about NRMA Home Insurance and Insurance Australia Limited.

It had over 450 complaints which is high but better than other providers such as AAI Limited. It also was able to resolve a larger percentage of its complaints with its customer internally.

While it received fewer complaints than AAI Limited, it may not be the best for customer service. Other similar-sized providers received less.

Bottom line about NRMA landlord insurance

NRMA home insurance is good if you want a large insurer that covers lost rent and unlike most, automatically covers flood, rainwater run-off and storm surge. However, unlike other insurers, it doesn't give you the flexibility to increase your cover with optional add-ons.

If you're not ready to take out a policy, you can compare other landlord insurers side-by-side on our homepage here.

FAQs about NRMA landlord insurance

The main eligibility criteria for an NRMA landlord insurance policy are as follows:
- The type of home you own. It must be a free standing house, townhouse, villa or duplex, semi-detached house or terrace. It's not suitable for body corporate buildings and houseboats.
- How you use the property. It must be rented out to tenants or a short-term rental agreement of more than 1-month.
- The condition of your home. The home needs to meet acceptable dwelling criteria. For example, it should be secure, watertight, structurally sound and well maintained.
Excess is your share of any claim for damage, loss or injury covered by your policy. Each claim requires its own excess and you may have to pay more than one excess. For example, if a fire damaged your house you would need to claim for the damage and pay an excess. If the house was unusable, you could claim for loss of rent, which would require an additional excess.