What does landlord insurance cover?

What is building cover?

Building cover protects the physical structure of your property – as opposed to the contents inside it – if it's damaged or destroyed by an insured event such as a natural disaster or fire. Building cover generally includes the following:

If your property is unliveable, building insurance can also cover you or for the loss of rent. However, it generally doesn't cover strata title buildings. If your rental property is part of a shared block, you'll likely need strata insurance.

What is contents cover?

Contents cover encompasses all the items you keep at your rental property. For example:

If an insured event occurs, landlord contents insurance can pay to repair or replace any damaged or destroyed items. In most cases, it's only worth getting contents cover if your property is furnished.

Combined cover

If you own a furnished property, most insurers allow you to combine building and contents cover.

4 main benefits of landlord insurance cover

Tenant default

Tenant or rent default is when the tenant stops paying rent. In most cases, this happens when the tenant's income is stopped or reduced because they unexpectedly lose their job or become ill. If this happens, landlord insurance can cover you.

Loss of rent

This covers you for loss of rental income if your property is damaged and becomes uninhabitable. For example, if the tenant can no longer stay due to a fire, flood, serious building damage or other insured events.

Damage by tenant

This covers costs related to damage that your tenant, their guests or pets cause. It can pay out for accidental and malicious damage.

Legal liability

This refers to legal costs if someone, generally the tenant, accuses you of negligence. For example, if you fail to meet safety requirements or building standards or you fail in your duty of care and a tenant or visitor is injured or their property is damaged.

Other common benefits with landlord insurance cover

In some cases, you get these benefits automatically included with your landlord insurance policy; others offer them as add-ons. This means you need to pay a little extra to get covered.

• What's an insured event?

  You might hear the term "insured event" a lot when looking at what landlord insurance covers. It may sound a little vague but that's mainly because an insured event encompasses a lot of things. Here's a long list of what these are:

  • Flood
  • Storm
  • Storm surge (in some cases)
  • Earthquakes
  • Tsunamis
  • Fires (including bushfires)
  • Lightning
  • Impact
  • Explosion
  • Theft or burglary
  • Malicious acts and vandalism
  • Escape of liquid
  • Animal damage
  • Civil unrest and rioting

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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...
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...
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...
Landlord Select Building & Contents Insurance		Optional	Optional			21 days	Annually	View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...

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Frequently asked questions

• What does landlord insurance not cover?

  Landlord insurance generally doesn't cover the following:

  • Regular maintenance
  • Tenant repairs
  • Tenant's items
  • Wear and tear
  • Mould (unless the mould was covered by an insured event)
  • Building defects
  • Damage caused by vermin, insects or rodents
  • Damage caused by movement of the sea
  • Damage related to war

   
  Landlord insurance also doesn't generally cover you if you take out a policy after a weather event such as a flood, storm or bushfire has become a known event. For example, you see it on the news or read about it and you try to make a claim.

• Is landlord insurance worth having?

  Landlord insurance is worth getting if you want financial security. If something happens, such as a fire or storm, and your property is damaged or destroyed, you could be looking at thousands or even millions of dollars in expenses, unless you get landlord insurance. It's also helpful if you get a policy that covers loss of rent and tenant default. Both ensure that you can continue to receive an income from your property.

• Does landlord insurance cover loss of income?

  Landlord insurance can cover loss of income in a couple of ways: if your tenant can't pay their rent (tenant default) or your property gets damaged or destroyed and becomes uninhabitable (loss of rent).