INSURING YOUR HOME

What’s the difference between Landlord Insurance and Home Insurance?


Home Insurance helps cover the costs of repairing or rebuilding your home if it’s damaged in an insured event, like fire (including bushfire), flood, or burglary. Landlord Insurance is similar, but also includes cover for landlord-specific things like loss of rent and malicious damage caused by tenants.

The features of Landlord Insurance vs Home Insurance

Both Home and Landlord Insurance may cover you in case of events like flood, storm, and fire (including bushfire). But insurance designed for landlords may also cover you for:

  • theft, vandalism, and malicious damage by tenants or guests
  • accidental glass breakage
  • up to $20 million legal liability for death or injury to other people, or loss or damage to their property
  • loss of rent when the tenant on your lease agreement defaults, and
  • legal costs to recover unpaid rent.

The last two are particularly important when it comes to maintaining the return on investment for your property. Chasing up unpaid rent can be time consuming, but the right cover can help. Check the Product Disclosure Statement for all the terms, conditions, limits and exclusions that apply.

Can Landlord Insurance cover you for damage caused by tenants?

In most cases, you’ll have cover for malicious damage caused by tenants and their guests. Your tenant or tenants must be subject to a rental agreement. If you’re giving your nephew and his girlfriend cheap rent without a rental agreement in place, then you won’t be covered.

Don’t forget, an excess may be payable in the event of damage caused by tenants or their guests too. Costs won’t be covered if the damage was accidental or unintended. Same for costs associated with cleaning, repairing, and removing odours, stains, and rubbish. Check the Product Disclosure Statement for all the terms, conditions, limits and exclusions here.

Coverage options for Landlord Insurance

You can typically choose from three options when it comes to Landlord Insurance:

  1. Landlord Property Insurance, which covers your building and permanent fixtures and fittings.
  2. Landlord Contents Insurance, which covers your property's furnishings including carpets and blinds.
  3. Landlord Property & Contents Insurance, which combines the above.

With GIO, options 1 and 3 include Safety net protection. If you have to repair or rebuild and the cost of doing so exceeds the sum you’re insured for, then GIO will pay up to a further 25% of the building sum insured. All options include tenant default cover and the costs to recover it (up to $5,000). Read the Product Disclosure Statement for details.

Cover for loss of rental income with Landlord Insurance

Hopefully you have reliable tenants. But take comfort knowing you’re covered with GIO Landlord Insurance in the event of malicious damage caused by your tenants. Not only that, you may be able to claim rental income in the event that your tenants default on rent payments. There are terms, limits and conditions that apply, so read the Product Disclosure Statement for more details.

You’ve worked hard to buy your investment property, so consider giving your asset the cover it deserves.

Explore Landlord Insurance with GIO today

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Insurance issued by AAI Limited ABN 48 005 297 807 trading as GIO. Read the Product Disclosure Statement before buying this insurance. Target Market Determination also available.

This advice has been prepared without taking into account your particular objectives, financial situation or needs, so you should consider whether it is appropriate for you before acting on it.