Insurance for Apartments

You might be wondering if there’s a difference between Home Insurance and apartment insurance. While there are diferrences, they both may help provide cover for your home in the case of damage, loss or theft. Read on for some common insurance for apartments Q&As for both landlords and tenants.

Landlord Q&A

What does Home Insurance for apartments cover?

If you’re a landlord and you own an apartment in a block of flats, then it’s likely your owners corporation will have an insurance policy that may help provide a level of cover for your apartment’s physical structure. So, in the case of any loss or damage to your apartment’s external walls and structures, your owners corporation should be able to help cover any costs for repairs or replacement.

What doesn’t Home Insurance for apartments cover?

It’s important to note that your owners corporation is unlikely to help provide cover for any loss or damage to the things inside your apartment which can include:

• Internal walls;
• Fixtures;
• Fittings; and
• Belongings inside your apartment.

What are the different types of cover available?

There are three different types of insurance products that concern apartment owners.

• Strata insurance: This is provided by your owners corporation (if your property is listed under a strata title). It helps cover costs for damage to the structure of the building and your apartment’s structure caused by events such as floods, storms and fires.
• Contents Insurance: This type of cover may help cover costs in case of loss or damage to internal walls, fixtures, fittings and belongings. Contents Insurance can cover belongings such as:
  • Jewellery and watches;
  • Furniture;
  • TVs and other technology;
  • Appliances and white goods;
  • Clothing; and
  • Other valuable items you may specify with your provider.
• Landlord Insurance: This type of cover could be suitable if there are tenants living in your apartment. It can help cover things such as:
  • Your liability (in case someone is injured in your apartment);
  • Losses if your tenants can’t pay rent or break their lease early; and
  • Damage to the structure of your apartment.

Why choose to get cover for your apartment?

If you’ve recently bought an apartment for yourself, or are planning to buy one soon as an investment property, here are a few reasons you might consider getting an insurance policy in place.

• Protect the structure:
  Buying an apartment is a huge commitment, and it’s a valuable asset that youmight want to protect. If any type of damage occurred, it could be expensive to pay for repairs all by yourself. Having suitable insurance can help towards covering these costs.
• Protect your valuables:
  If you’re an owner-occupier, and there is any kind of loss, damage or theft to your most valuable items inside your apartment, it could cost hundreds or thousands of dollars to replace. Taking out a Contents Insurance policy may help you towards covering costs you may need to recover your favourite things.
• Protect yourself against potential losses:
  If you’re a landlord, you’d be well aware that there are lots of things to handle when it comes to having tenants.

If your tenants are unable to pay their rent, unexpectedly break their lease, or even damage something on your property, then a Landlord Insurance policy could help you recover any losses or repairs, depending on the policy.

Tenant Q&A

Do I need insurance as a tenant, if i am renting an apartment?

If you’re renting an apartment, then your landlord should have an appropriate insurance policy in place to help provide cover for any damage to the physical structure to the apartment. This should be explained in your rental agreement, which you should receive from your property manager when you sign the lease. However, if you want to protect your personal belongings inside the apartment, then you might like to consider taking out a Contents Insurance policy.

Who covers insurance for structural damage or shared apartment facilities?

Both structural damage and shared apartment facilities can be covered by your landlord’s owner’s corporation. This typically includes cover to things that are damaged such as:

• External walls;
• Balconies;
• Swimming pools;
• Common areas;
• Lifts; and
• Carparks.

What sort of factors could affect my premium if I choose to take out Contents Insurance?

As policies vary between providers, there are also a range of factors that can affect your premium:

• The location and security of your apartment.
• The value of your belongings.
• The age and structure of your apartment.
• The risk of natural hazards and disasters occuring in your area.

There are ways you can reduce your premium if you find that it’s too costly. Generally, providers will allow you to pay a lower premium as long as you’re happy to pay a higher excess in the event that you make a claim. Again, this varies between providers, so check your Product Disclosure Statement before making a purchasing decision.

Where can I start comparing options?

You can compare from a range of Home & Contents and Landlord Insurance policies with us at iSelect. . Or just give us a call on 13 19 20 and someone from our team can help you compare policies from our range of providers*.