What Insurance & Which Company?

[Wayne]

Overseas they have on-line calculators where you can put all the information in and out pops a value (read about it in another article on the same thing). There is some expectation that they will pop up here also.

[speights boy]

It's a joke.

Certainly the shareholders are seeing the funny side.

IAG profit soars as weather calms down

Insurance Australia Group’s first half profit has more than tripled and the company has raised its performance targets for the full year.
IAG made a net profit of $461 million in the six months to December 31, up from $144 million in the previous corresponding period.

Its insurance profit of $815 million in the six months was also significantly higher, up from $271 million for the same period the previous year. The results reflected a benign weather period in the half year, and improving financial markets.
www.smh.com.au/business/earnings-season/iag-profit-soars-as-weather-calms-down-20130221-2esi1.html

[arcticblue]

Insurance cover

We own a house in Christchurch and have just been paid out by our insurance company so no longer have any insurance cover on the house. We are considering buying a new house and renting our current one out. However as we would ideally like some sort of liability insurance in the case that the house burns down and then a neighbours place burns down due to our one catching fire. Is anyone else renting out properties in Christchurch without insurance and can you recommend an insurance company that would do some sort of liability cover? If not are people limiting their liability in some other way such as in a company? Or just assuming that the risk is negligible so not worrying about any cover?

Any advice from people renting out houses that aren't insured would be great.

[garrett]

We own a house in Christchurch and have just been paid out by our insurance company so no longer have any insurance cover on the house. We are considering buying a new house and renting our current one out. However as we would ideally like some sort of liability insurance in the case that the house burns down and then a neighbours place burns down due to our one catching fire. Is anyone else renting out properties in Christchurch without insurance and can you recommend an insurance company that would do some sort of liability cover? If not are people limiting their liability in some other way such as in a company? Or just assuming that the risk is negligible so not worrying about any cover?

Any advice from people renting out houses that aren't insured would be great.

I have client who has a property which may not be able to economically achieve the 33% of current code minimum bracing requirements. Aon Risk is who they recommended for the out of the ordinary insurance.

[Raftcomm]

Which Insurance Company?

Hi all,

I'm currently doing a bit of research around the house insurance for my rental property and need some advice from all who are familiar with this.

I've used this calculator to work out the indicative replacement cost of the house however i wasn't sure on a few additional coverage which companies like AMI offers.

- Rental Market Value cover vs Rental Replacement cover. Which is recommended?
- Lost rent cover, tenants vacating without notice, theft or deliberate damage. Is it worth getting all this additional cover?

I've read a few horror stories in this forum, ranging from those in Christchurch to those with bad tenants however am mindful that they dont form the vast majority of rentals out there. Is it still prudent to have them included in the policy?

Any advice / recommendations / gotchas would be very much appreciated.

[DazRaz]

I'm in Christchurch and added loss of rent to my cover. It was $90pa for this and considering what you could lose should you not have it, I deemed it a small price for piece of mind.

Read the fine print and understand what you need to do to be covered. It may say that you need 3 weeks bond minimum, regular inspections etc. If you don't meet their conditions, you are throwing money away.

I've always viewed insurance as something for big events. A few weeks loss of rent - not important. 6 months after a fire - vital.

[north shore]

Not trying to hijack this thread.......
I just got the renewal notice from Ami and we have to change to the new sum agreed policy, our others don't come up till next year.
The figure insured on it seems low, how is everyone else figuring out what sum to insure, are you using the calculator posted above and thats it or are you adding a percentage on as well? Or are you using a valuer?
Thanks

[Maccachic]

Here are some articles we have posted on the subject:

http://www.prendos.co.nz/replacement-vs-set-sum-changes-to-insurance-policies

http://www.prendos.co.nz/residential-insurance-certificates

[Raftcomm]

In the same dilemma as you north shore. I used the calculator only as a guide and thought about using a valuer however i have heard that the figures quoted is typically only valid for about 3 - 6 months. Factors such as increases in building materials, labour cost etc could ultimately leave you short in terms of a house replacement in the event of a disaster.

On the flip side, the calculator doesn't take into account things like demolition cost.

I guess it boils down to the amount of risk you are willing to take. My thoughts so far is to use the valuer as a once off and compare that to the calculator. If they are close enough then periodically check it every 6 months. If a huge discrepancy occurs then perhaps it may be time to revise the insurance policy.

[Raftcomm]

I just read the calculator Ts&Cs. This part here would ultimately mean the cost is still short of its actual replacement value.

This calculator does not include an allowance for some of the costs that may be associated with
replacing a building, including but not limited to, contents removal costs, landscaping costs, temporary
rental costs and the costs of rectifying any damage caused during demolition and reconstruction.

Any clues what sort of range the $$ figure would be for demolition cost?

[Perry]

I wonder if a broker would
be a good person to consult?
They will know the options,
I suspect.

[drelly]

I wonder if a broker would
be a good person to consult?
They will know the options,
I suspect.

That's a bit of a fallacy. Brokers need to make money too and this means putting the bulk of their business with one company and a couple of backups.

[Perry]

Certainly, that's possible. And, like stock
brokers being offered 'bonus' commissions,
insurance brokers may be similarly tempted.
Fortunately, so far, my experience has
been better than that.

[onno]

I renewed my rental property insurance on March with Tower. It still shows "full replacement value"

[onno]

AMI, NZI, State owned by IAG, and VERO, AA owned by Suncorp. FYI