By Evlin DuBose and Krutika Kale
Fact Checked
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Got an investment property? Congratulations! From tax breaks to rental income to giving people a great place to live, becoming a landlord certainly has its membership perks.
However, there are some risks involved in housing tenants, too, so it’s important to find a great value landlord insurance policy to keep your mind peaceful and your finances secure.
Whether you’re concerned about property damage, loss of rental income, or other unforeseeable incidents you’d normally expect home insurance to cover, there are a number of policy options available to you. The trick to finding the best landlord insurance is to compare what’s included in the product disclosure statement (PDS) against your needs as a property owner.
To help you search for the right policy for your investment property, our team of experts researched insurance products that offer great value or high-quality coverage. Mozo’s Expert Analysts studied 33 landlord insurance policies and collected more than 3,000 unique customer quotes to assess policies on coverage and value for the 2023 Mozo Experts Choice Landlord Insurance Awards^, which remain valid until the next awards later in 2024.
The awards are split into two categories – Exceptional Value and Exceptional Quality. This is so you can research options based on how comprehensive the coverage is, as well as how competitively priced policies are for the features they offer.
For a little extra insight into some of the award-winning policies crowned recently, we’ve laid out the details of a few options here.
Head over to our Home Insurance Awards page for the full list of winners and more information on how they were chosen.
Best landlord insurance in Australia
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Disclaimer
Who we are and how we get paid
Our goal at Mozo is to help you make smart financial decisions. The products listed in the comparison table are presented by our partner WhistleOut Pty Ltd. As a marketplace business, we do earn money from advertising and this page features products with Go links where the provider pays us a fee if you go to their site from ours, or you take out a product with them. You do not pay any extra for using the comparison tool.
WhistleOut Pty Ltd maintains a broad list of providers to help you compare, and covers at least the top ten providers in every category. For more information or to understand how WhistleOut Pty Ltd earns money from advertising, please visit the WhistleOut Pty Ltd website.
Budget Direct Landlord Insurance*
- 15% discount on your first-year premium for new policies purchased online (T&Cs apply)
- New-for-old landlord contents cover up to 5% of the sum insured (T&Cs apply)
- Landlord cover available as an optional extra
Why it won: Budget Direct’s award-winning combined Home and Contents Insurance policy can be upgraded to include Landlord cover. The policy itself, plus Landlord cover took home both an Exceptional Value and Exceptional Quality award for the second time in a row at the 2023 Mozo Experts Choice Awards^. Budget Direct also took home the title of Value Insurer of the Year for 2023 for the competitive pricing of its home insurance offerings.
This particular policy offers cover for both your investment property and valuables for a range of events, including accidental breakage of glass, theft, and natural disasters such as lightning strikes, fires, and storms (flood cover optional). You could also get legal liability cover up to $20 million for eligible claims. Right now, Budget Direct is also offering a 15% discount on your first year’s premium when you purchase a new policy online (conditions apply).
Kogan Landlord Insurance *
- 12% discount on new online home insurance policies (T&Cs apply)
- $5 Kogan credit when you complete a quote (T&Cs apply)
- Rent default by tenant cover as optional extra (T&Cs apply)
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Why it won: Kogan took home the Exceptional Quality Landlord Insurance award at the 2023 Mozo Experts Choice Awards^, and we can see why. Kogan won an award in the Exceptional Quality Landlord Insurance category, which celebrates policies that offer cover for things like loss of rent and legal liability, among other benefits. .
Kogan’s landlord insurance covers a range of events, including storms, earthquakes, lightning, accidental breakage of glass, and more. You may also have your mortgage discharge fees covered up to $2,000 if your property is completely destroyed as a result of an insured event. You could get legal liability cover and also add the optional rent default protection, for an additional premium. Currently, Kogan is offering a 12% discount for the first year on new home insurance policies purchased online (T&Cs apply).
For a limited time, you can also score a one-off $5 credit to use on the Kogan website on a single purchase over $100, just by completing an insurance quote online (T&Cs apply).
Virgin Money Landlord Insurance*
- 15% online purchase discount for the first year’s premium (T&Cs apply)
- Cover for 10 insured events including fire, lightning, storms, etc.
- Landlord insurance available as an optional extra with home and contents policy
Find out more
Why it won: Virgin Money won two awards at the 2023 Mozo Experts Choice Awards^ for its Home & Contents Insurance policy. This Home & Contents Insurance policy won both in the Exceptional Value & Exceptional Quality categories as it offers a range of covers like loss of rent, legal liability and other events at competitive premium prices.
This insurance policy by Virgin Money covers 10 insured events fire, lightning, storms, etc. , and also loss of rental income due to an insured event (T&Cs apply). It covers legal liability up to $20 million and up to $750 mortgage discharge costs. It also provides replacement of locks and stolen keys for up to $1,000. Currently, Virgin Money is offering a 15% discount for the first year’s premium on any new home insurance policies purchased online (T&Cs apply).
QBE Landlord Insurance*
- 10% online policy discounts for policies purchased online (T&Cs apply)
- Up to $30 million legal liability cover (T&Cs)
- Underinsurance protection for eligible policies
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Why it won: This award-winning policy from QBE won in the Exceptional Quality Home & Contents Insurance at the 2023 Mozo Experts Choice awards, and it’s not hard to see why. New policies purchased only could receive a 10% discount (with conditions).
Severe weather events or natural disasters like fire, storm, hail, lightning, earthquakes, and floods are included in standard coverage, as well as accidental or malicious damage like broken glass. Damage by animals can also be covered (T&Cs apply). There’s also up to $30 million in eligible legal liability cover, optional underinsurance protection for a portion of the sum insured, and mortgage discharge cover of up to $2,000 if your property is completely destroyed. You could also receive up to $2,500 toward environmental upgrades-contents after a total loss, such as for installing solar panels (T&Cs).
Qantas Landlord Insurance*
- 15% combined (home & contents) policy discount when you purchase new (T&Cs apply)
- Earn up to 30,000 Qantas Points when you join (T&Cs apply)
- Landlord insurance available as an optional extra
Find out more
Why it won: Qantas took home an Exceptional Quality^ win at the 2022 Experts Choice Awards^, and it isn’t hard to see why. This comprehensive home & contents insurance policy can be customised with landlord insurance as an optional extra, which gives eligible claims up to $20 million in legal liability protection as well as coverage for a host of damages to your investment property.
Standard benefits can include accidental or malicious damage (like theft or glass breakage) as well as natural disaster cover for storms, fires, and earthquakes. You may also have your mortgage discharge fees covered up to $750 if your property is completely destroyed as a result of an insured event. If you spend a minimum of $1,550 on your policy’s premiums, you could also earn up to 20,000 Qantas Points (with conditions). At the moment, there’s also a 15% combined policy discount on your first year when you purchase new (T&Cs).
ING Landlord Insurance*
- 30% online discount on the first year’s premium (T&Cs)
- New-for-old replacement cover
- Landlord cover available as an optional extra
Find out more
Why it won: ING won both the categories - Exceptional Value^ and Exceptional Quality^ for the third year in a row at the 2023 Mozo Experts Choice Awards. The Home & Contents Insurance policy offers landlord cover as an optional extra. It comes with coverage in a range of flexible and comprehensive scenarios, including accidental breakage of glass, theft, fire, storms, and natural disasters, with flood cover as an optional extra. With their new-for-old contents cover, ING offers to replace any eligible lost or damaged valuables with brand-new items of comparable value (limits apply, see the PDS for more details). There’s legal liability cover up to $20 million for eligible claims, as well. ING is also currently offering a 30% buy-online discount for the first year’s premium on new combined home and contents policies (conditions apply).
*Terms, conditions, exclusions, limits and sub-limits may apply to any of the insurance products shown on the Mozo website. These terms, conditions, exclusions, limits and sub-limits could affect the level of benefits and cover available under any of the insurance products shown on the Mozo website. Please refer to the relevant Product Disclosure Statement and the Target Market Determination on the provider's website for further information before making any decisions about an insurance product.
More Mozo Experts Choice Award-winners
Everybody has a unique situation to consider when choosing the best landlord insurance for them. But regardless of your circ*mstances, the trick is to balance price and adequate coverage for you and your investment property.
A good place to start researching the details of these various benefits, exclusions, and limits is in the PDS for each policy.
Below, we’ve highlighted all the winners in the Exceptional Value and Exceptional Quality categories for the 2023 Mozo Experts Choice Awards for Landlord Insurance^.
Exceptional Value Landlord Insurance Winners
Protecting your investment property against unexpected events doesn’t need to break the bank. Balancing your expenses against the income generated by your rental property can be a tricky puzzle, but our experts have come to the conclusion that the below winners can keep your ongoing costs low while offsetting the risk of damage to the property.
- Budget Direct (Home & Contents Insurance)
- APIA (Property & Contents Insurance)
- GIO (Property & Contents Insurance)
- ING (Home & Contents Insurance)
- AAMI (Building & Landlord Contents Insurance)
- Virgin Money (Building & Contents Insurance)
Exceptional Quality Landlord Insurance Winners
When assessing the quality of landlord insurance policies on offer, our experts looked at the level of cover offered for a range of events including loss of rent, acts of tenants and legal liabilities, among others. After assessing 33 policies, our Expert Judges awarded the following providers:
- Budget Direct (Home & Contents Insurance)
- GIO (Property & Contents Insurance)
- ING (Building & Contents Insurance)
- Kogan (Building & Contents Insurance)
- Qantas (Home & Contents Insurance)
- Virgin Money (Home & Contents Insurance)
Curious why these winners stood out? Learn more about the judging process by reading our Mozo Experts Choice Home and Landlord Insurance Awards methodology report.
* Terms, conditions, exclusions, limits and sub-limits may apply to any of the insurance products shown on the Mozo website. These terms, conditions, exclusions, limits and sub-limits could affect the level of benefits and cover available under any of the insurance products shown on the Mozo website. Please refer to the relevant Product Disclosure Statement and the Target Market Determination on the provider's website for further information before making any decisions about an insurance product.
^See information about the Mozo Experts Choice Home Insurance Awards
FAQs about landlord insurance
Which landlord insurance is the best?
While no one policy is universally the best, the best landlord insurance policy for you will offer the right level of coverage for your investment property while fitting squarely within your budget. You can start with our 2023 Mozo Experts Choice Home Insurance award-winners in the landlord insurance category if you're looking for standouts in the market.
Why is landlord insurance so expensive?
A variety of factors determine the premium of a home & contents insurance policy, such as location, age, and occupancy. Because you aren't the one living in your investment property, you're not the one minding things and this can carry extra risk, which insurance providers price into their policies accordingly.
Our cheap home insurance guide goes into pricing in more detail.
Should I get landlord insurance?
If you have an investment property, it can be a great idea to protect the building and any of your valuables (such as curtains, furniture, or rugs) with a good value home insurance policy. This can help safeguard your investment property from unforeseen circ*mstances with big financial implications.
Benefits vary between policies, but usually include coverage for accidental or malicious damage, severe weather, loss of rent, and legal liability. These inclusions are usually available as part of an optional extra designed for landlords on top of a standard home & contents policy. Check out the product disclosure statement (PDS) if you're comparing policies.
What insurance do I need as a landlord?
Landlord (or building) insurance is a kind of policy landlords can take out that covers the physical structure of the property they own, as well as some rental protections and liability insurance (depending on the provider and policy).
If some of the contents in your rental property are your own, too, you may want to combine building insurance with contents insurance, which can protect them in case of accidental or malicious damage.
