What Insurance & Which Company?

[BigDreamer]

Has anyone claimed for LPI for unpaid rent? What was the scenario and conditions?

[CaptainChaos]

Which Insurance Company?

Hi Guys,

New Investor here from the US.
Just looking at my first NZ deal and need some advice about Insurance (Residential).

What conditions do I need cover for?

• Replacement
• Theft
• Liability Insurance (in case the tenant brings a suit against me)
• Cover for paying the loan if I loose the tenant
• Can I get cover for anything the tenant does to a 3rd party while they're in my property (ie: their dog bits a visitor or the mailman etc)?

Which companies are the best at paying out if I need them to?
Any hooks or anomalies I need to look out for in the policies?

Any advice would be great thanks.

Chaos

[Damap]

NZ is a bit different to the USA your main options are what we call landlord insurance or standard house insurance.
We have ACC so you don't have to worry about slip and fall claims and other nonsense.
There are some policies that will cover you for tenant damage and loss of rents but most investors have landlord policies or generic building replacement. Our premiums are high here since Christchurch, I am sure some people will chime in with company recommendations.

[CaptainChaos]

No slip & falls . . . that's a bonus.
So the tenant isn't able to bring about a suit against a landlord for mishaps?
Does the tenant need to provide their own insurance for that kind of thing, or even for their own furniture or whatever?

I'd be glad for some recommendations so I can look them up - thanks.

[Eugene]

You can recommend to the tenant that they have third party insurance to cover if they damage your property, eg burn it down. So far I haven't bothered doing that.
I am not aware of any cover you can get for losing a tenant.
You can get landlord insurance to cover malicious damage by the tenant.
You can get loss of rent insurance to cover when your building cannot be occupied, eg after damage from an earthquake
You need to insure your building for what you think it would cost to rebuild.
I suggest you phone an insurance company and they will go through what you need.
If you call AA you can speak directly to someone who will quote for you and explain how things work here, +64 9 966 8071.
Or you can call an insurance broker.

[Damap]

We just don't have it here Captain. The whole suing everybody you can all the time is something we never imported. If you get injured the government picks up the tab.

[Eugene]

We just don't have it here Captain. The whole suing everybody you can all the time is something we never imported. If you get injured the government picks up the tab.

That is right.
Where there is negligence, eg industrial accidents, it ends up in court but I don't think the victim takes the case. The outcome is a fine and a payment to the victim. But the amounts are trifling in relation to the injury.
Or an engineer is sanctioned for building failure, eg Christchurch.
This is not something I take much notice of or worry about. It just doesn't happen.

If you are spending any time in NZ yourself make sure you have disability and income protection insurance as the government (ACC) cover is low. If you have a accident they will pick up your medical bills but not much else.

[Perry]

There are quite a few threads on insurance,
on these forums. Here's one.

To see the rest, go to a major search engine
and enter in the search field, the phrase below
exactly as it's written, including the only space
between insurance and site.

insurance siteropertytalk.com

[PTILoveYou]

1) house insurance
- this one you really need, and it's mandatory if you got a mortgage on it

2) contents insurance
- for carpet, curtains etc
- optional depending on your risk level

3) rent loss
- covers loss of rent, conditions apply
- even more optional depending on your risk level


As for trips & falls for your tenants, we have ACC here in NZ, so you don't need to worry about that.

[ybbest]

You can try to use insurance broker and they are independent of insurance company. Like the one below
crombielockwood.co.nz/landlords#.VDZTQ_mSxlY
There is also a recent change in house insurance in NZ to Sum insured model , not sure if US is already using it , but it is new to NZ after a recent earth quake. For more you can check below
need2know.org.nz

[chrisrussell]

Hi. I am a property manager and Real is by far the best policy. No conditions, very easy claims, very easy to deal with, $330. Your PM should not be charging $200, that's unecesary! Our landlords only get charged the $330. You should change PMs and take out real. It's superior.

[chrisrussell]

Another policy has just been released - www.bondextend.co.nz.
This is where the company will buy a tenancy tribunal debt of up to $5000. The cost is $220 per annum or per claim. Looks to be a good policy, although it is only available to property managers. We are looking at using it.

[PTWhatAGreatForum]

Another policy has just been released - www.bondextend.co.nz.
This is where the company will buy a tenancy tribunal debt of up to $5000. The cost is $220 per annum or per claim. Looks to be a good policy, although it is only available to property managers. We are looking at using it.

I have a rule to never trust a company who does not openly publish their phone number and address. They only have an email address listed on their 'contact us' page.

Digging deeper -

http://www.bondextend.co.nz/pdfs/terms-1-0.pdf

lists them as care of their accountant.

The Whois record for their domain name bondextend.co.nz calls their organisation 'TPS' (Pretty meaningless) and lists only a PO Box.

A company search on "Rental Acceptances Ltd' lists their street address and address for service as their accountant.

Clearly they are trying to be opaque. Would you trust a tenant who was less than upfront about pertinent matters?

My concern is further reinforced because the Companies Office website lists their business type as 'Collection Agency Service'. There are several companies (Doing things like high interest loans, debt collection and grossly overpriced consumer goods) operating the grey area between legitimate debt collections and outright criminals. One of the common denominators with these sorts is they operate in the shadows about who they are, where they are and how to contact them. This is for good reason, given their 'tactics' and 'operating methods'. While I don't have 1st hand evidence in respect of this crowd, the red flags are certainly there.

The minimum best practice for a legitimate commercial website is:
1. Phone number
2. Street address
3. Registered company name
all displayed prominently on their website and domain name whois record.

In addition a Privacy Policy is a must.

[phillip30]

insurance

Hi All,

just got my renewal for my policies it appears of late each year the priceincreases and the cover reduces. In particular I see they only cover for a setsum which on estimation appears well short of replacement. Does anyone know ofpolices etc. that provide full replacement, I have been told the only way toobtain full cover is to get a valuation done which would significantly add tothe cost. any suggestions or companies providing good cover would be greatly received.

Thanks

Phillip

[speights boy]

phillip

You choose the sum insured figure yourself, and then tell the insurer.

You can use a quantity survryor; the online calculator and then add on to that, or make a guesstimate.
It's up to you.

Is this the first sum insured policy you've had?
Have you been following the press attention it has received over the last year or so ?

I believe there is a major insurer which will use full replacement coverage, but it is only for fire.
I forget which one.