What Insurance & Which Company?

[Meehole]

trademe also has an insurance arm.Their premiums are competitive.The possible downside is that they are underwritten by Tower Ins who have a reputation for trying to wriggle out of paying out on claims

We switched to Tower when we were in ChCh post earthquakes. I have found them to be great to deal with not only with the rental property but around home. There is more to the claims that remain unresolved in ChCh than most people are aware of.

[archinvestor]

Hey, All great advice. Checked out the Initi - Is very competitive. Might head down that path.

[Chewbucca]

Insurance Claim difficult to justify.

Tenant has left and has damaged the property. This is a break down of the excess I have to pay. In most cases, its not worth claiming for. Standard 3 bedroom 120m2 house. I'm paying around $3000 a year from insurance premiums.

Here is the breakdown of the multiple / deliberate damage claims :

Excess : standard excess of Refund $R1000 plus $500 additional payable

Deliberate damage by tenants
If you have selected this benefit and your
house is deliberately damaged by your
tenants or their guests, we will pay up to
the sum insured shown in the certificate of
insurance for this Optional special benefit to
repair your house (but not your Landlord’s
contents and chattels).
An additional excess of $500 will apply to
this Optional special benefit.


Event 1 : carpet being cut – a hole cut through to the timber flooring and also sliced with a knife.
There were multiple burn marks on the carpet also.

Excess $R1000 + $500 payable ( costs must exceed $1000 of which $500 is payable )
Required: confirmation on which room – excess per room applies
EVENT 2: The tenants had placed a dartboard on the wooden cabinetry in the lounge and thrown metal darts which have gouged the wooden cabinetry and caused significant damage.

Excess $R1000 + $500 payable ( costs must exceed $1000 of which $500 is payable )
Required : Repair quote

Event 3 . The curtains at the property have also suffered significant damage – see witness statement. Incorrect washing method has been used

NOT COVERED : insured has not selected Landlord’s contents and chattels cover

EVENT 4
There is a burn mark to the bench beside the kitchen stove.

Excess $R1000 + $500 payable ( costs must exceed $1000 of which $500 is payable )
Required : Repair/ replacement quote

Event 5: HEATPUMP
Excess $R1000 + $500 payable ( costs must exceed $1000 of which $500 is payable )
Required : Repair report and quote

Event 6 : Smoke Alarms –missing

Excess $R1000 + $500 payable ( costs must exceed $1000 of which $500 is payable )
This could be uneconomic to claim on

EVENT 7: Metal dart in lounge cabinetry- NOT SURE IF THIS IS SAME AS EVENT #2

Excess $R1000 + $500 payable ( costs must exceed $1000 of which $500 is payable )
Required : Repair quote

Police batton located on top of kitchen pantry – no claim
Cigarette found on laundry floor – no claim

EVENT 8 : Burn marks to laundry tub

Excess $R1000 + $500 payable ( costs must exceed $1000 of which $500 is payable )
Required : Repair quote

Bathroom floor – tobacco/or such found down beside vanity and skirting board – NO CLAIM

EVENT 9 : Lounge door – gouges out of it

Excess $R1000 + $500 payable ( costs must exceed $1000 of which $500 is payable )
Required : Repair quote and photos of damage

EVENT 10 Security alarm sensor in lounge – has been painted over by tenants with white paint deliberately

Excess $R1000 + $500 payable ( costs must exceed $1000 of which $500 is payable )
Required : Repair report and Repair quote . also need report for the previous repair that was done on this

[SimonW]

From the sound of it you need to start shopping around for a better deal. I am sure the excess on all my rental properties is only $250 per event with nothing further payable. Your premium sounds quite high too, but I suppose that depends on the sum insured value you chose.

[Keys]

South African rental?

[Meehole]

Why didn't some of this come out of the bond?

[Learning]

Initi

"Due to the earthquake events of 14 November 2016 affecting the central South Island and lower North Island we are not currently providing new quotes for this region. This is based on the information we currently have and this approach will remain in place until further notice."

[Meehole]

Don't go with tower insurance. They are expensive, unprofessional, and from personal experience try and wriggle their way out of paying for anything.

We dealt with them in ChCh post earthquake and they were the exact opposite of what you say.

[DazRaz]

We had a great experience with Tower following the Chch earthquakes. Just a shame that EQC held up the claim for 5 years.

I also don't think the premium amount should be the primary consideration for choosing an insurance company. AMI used to be the cheapest in Chch but didn't have enough cash/re-insurance to stay afloat following the quake and were sold to IAG. The people caught up in that are now still battling Southern Response.

[Beano]

Insurance

Currently with Westpac ...who use Lumley (Residential / Vehicles) and Aon ..who use NZI (Commercial)

The premium have increased by up to 22% ...

Who do you use ?

[Sanya]

Insurance for rental properties?

My recent premiums have increased by about 25% YoY.

It was the same last year too.

Increases to Government levys (fire-service, natural disaster, earthquake) have been key drivers but company premiums (Vero in my case) are also on the up and up!

[big fella]

Currently with Westpac ...who use Lumley (Residential / Vehicles) and Aon ..who use NZI (Commercial)

The premium have increased by up to 22% ...

Who do you use ?

Vero for residential. With Commercial I would definitely shop around as NZI are putting up all there premiums regardless. My recommendation is don't go through a bank but find a broker

[Davo36]

Yes I am renewing insurance right now.

Going from NZI to Vero. NZI put up their price as per above post. Vero are cheaper and have a better policy.

[Sportsvee]

Well, definitely CANNOT recommend Tower if you need to claim. Customer service/communication is next to nil.

As a result I will not be staying with them.
How did you go Davo36? Any joy?
Any recommendations for personal house/content/car?

Thank you in advance.

[Bluekiwi]

Well, definitely CANNOT recommend Tower if you need to claim. Customer service/communication is next to nil.

As a result I will not be staying with them.
How did you go Davo36? Any joy?
Any recommendations for personal house/content/car?

Thank you in advance.

If you want proper service and ability to actually complete a claim when it happens, you must go through an Insurance Broker, and I suggest ILG for that.

In saying that,

I was at a property conference Sunday just gone, and they did mention "Initio" has a property investor product that was generally $500 cheaper per house.
And I did some online checks and they are.

But I need to have a good look at exact policy wording to see what the coverage difference is.

If you do the due diligence post it here, maybe compare with AMP