Insurance Question about Terri Scheer - from a novice.

Ok, as above I'm pretty much a novice. I have a couple of properties, one that has given more than my fair share of grief recently. But that is what I have insurance for - right :confused:

Well you would hope. But my policy is due, and to be honest I'm not 100% happy with AAMI. The cost of the premium is what I'd consider high at $1036.46. Yep, that is just for the one property. And we pay over $10K worth of insurances a year. But the thing is, I'm not seeing the value :eek:. Tenant, destroys the place, leaves unpaid rent, need to take him to VCAT, fully furnished house reduced to almost no furniture, and every piece damaged in some way. Insurance company reluctant to pay up, putting us through the wringer further (like we haven't gone through enough).

So then, I get the place evaluated from another REA. Who seem EXCELLENT. They had landlord 'packs' with all the relevant information ready to go, but forgot to bring one out to the property so hand delivered to our door. And it has a brochure for Terri Scheer in there. I'm reading through it, and have got the opinion from this forum that it may be a better way to go. But then, I read the brochure some more, and they are quoting premiums of $285 a year!!!! WHAT, I thought they would be MORE expensive.

Being a long weekend, I can't call them to inquire if that is right. But I was wondering if forum members could give me an opinion on this insurer, and elaborate a little more about their fees? I'd love the help.
 
I'm assuming the $1036.46 is for building and landlord insurance (and possibly contents?).

I can't see how the Terry Scheer brochure would be quoting $285 when their standard fee for Landlords Insurance is $340. Even with more than one policy it's not that cheap.

I use them for LL but I found their building + LL insurance combined too expensive.
What does the online quote on the website tell you?
 
I've got policy premiums listed for different states in front of me;
SA- $265
WA- $270
Vic- $285
ACT- $310
Tas- $235
NSW- $360
NT- $290
Qld- $290.

Maybe that could account for the difference?
The online quote doesn't help me much, because I think this recent claim will be for more than $5K after tenant damage. So I'll have to ring them?

My premium was for building, contents, landlord and tenant protection through AAMI.
 
$285 is for landlord insurance (rent default etc). Building is on top of that. It would only be $285 if it was for a strata etc property where a third party insures the building.

I have recently moved my insurances from GIO to TICA landlord insurance.
 
From the research I have done to date, I decided to go with EBM (rent cover ultra) for tenant protection, with the building insurance being with AAMI. Fingers crossed I never have to use it. They all claim to be the greatest until you need to claim......
 
Hi ,
I have all my IPS with Tica I have not had to claim yet but what they cover is excellent especially 15 weeks rent default plus many other extras, compared to EBM only 6 weeks rent.

Regards,
Don
 
I have my building insurance with RACV for all the properties.

I was absolutely amazed at the fantastic support I received from them when one of my properties was hit very badly Christmas Day with the floods.

I did NOT have contents insurance but RACV organised replacement carpet, through CarpetOne, moving of the furniture and removal of the damaged carpet. The claim was approved in 2 days. When I questioned how come it was approved when I only had building insurance the reply was that the flooding was covered under the building insurance.

I had to pay the first $300 and my premium will go up 10% this year but it was fantastic service.

Chris
 
Hi ,
I have all my IPS with Tica I have not had to claim yet but what they cover is excellent especially 15 weeks rent default plus many other extras, compared to EBM only 6 weeks rent.

Regards,
Don

The important thing is that you need to compare policies for overall features rather than single features (note that I work for EBM so don't just believe me, check yourself, I am simply suggesting that you do the research to understand all the features).

The 15 weeks versus 6 is only sort of correct. The EBM products pay up to 6 weeks for some situations, and up to 52 weeks in others (this is not referring to defined events such as fire and storm where both policies cover up to 52 weeks).

So with an EBM policy it will cover up to 6 weeks for rent default or broken leases, but if the tenant refuses to leave and you need to go through the courts, it will pay up to 52 weeks. Our biggest claim for denial of access has in fact been 39 weeks although I've heard of a situation that went on for 52 weeks. I believe that the TICA policy is limited to 15 weeks regardless of the circumstances (apart from defined events which is more).

It was structured this way deliberately as 6 weeks plus bond covers most simple situations but the 52 weeks then covers the nasty ones.

There are of course also a lot of other features that need to be considered such as no cover for Accidental Damage under the TICA policy. They have cover for Malicious, deliberate and intentional, but not accidental. We have being arranging landlord insurance for over 20 years and paid over $12 million in claims in the last 12 months alone, and this experience tells us that the majority of our damage claims are paid as Accidental Damage.

It may also be worth checking whether it is a requirement to have a fixed lease in place, or whether there is cover if the tenants are on a lease continuation or periodic tenancy. Not sure about this policy but it has been a hot topic as quite a number of policies won't pay in this situation, I would check the Product Disclosure Statement.

There are all sorts of other differences, and I'm not suggesting that the TICA policy isn't a good one, simply suggesting that you need to look at all the features and exclusions etc. to get a true picture.
 
$285 is for landlord insurance (rent default etc). Building is on top of that. It would only be $285 if it was for a strata etc property where a third party insures the building.

I have recently moved my insurances from GIO to TICA landlord insurance.

That's quite right. The TICA policy for $285 would be essentially landlord insurance including contents for defined risks, no building. You will still need to cover your building.

With Terri Scheer you would have their Landlord Preferred policy plus a building policy.

With EBM you would use RentCoverPlatinum which combines the landlord policy (RentCoverUltra) with a building policy. If you had RentCoverUltra on it's own you would still need a building policy.
 
Hey Brett

The coverage of tenants on periodic leases was my main reason from dumping GIO since they only cover fixed period. Tica definitely do cover periodic leases.

The cost between EBM and Tica was pretty close as I got a quote from EBM as well.

Just some feedback for you, one of the main reasons I did not go with EBM was the terrible phone service from your call centre. I called up and got the most disinterested guy on the phone who made the whole process feel like I was daring to disturb him from something more important than selling new policies. He would sigh with every question (eg about cover/period etc) and was a real disappointment to deal with.

While I know EBM have a great name, and it may have been just the guy having a bad day, but it did make me go elsewhere. Perhaps use it as some constructive criticism for improvement for your call centre?

Feel free to PM me for more details if you feel its warranted.

Dave
 
Hey Brett

The coverage of tenants on periodic leases was my main reason from dumping GIO since they only cover fixed period. Tica definitely do cover periodic leases.

The cost between EBM and Tica was pretty close as I got a quote from EBM as well.

Just some feedback for you, one of the main reasons I did not go with EBM was the terrible phone service from your call centre. I called up and got the most disinterested guy on the phone who made the whole process feel like I was daring to disturb him from something more important than selling new policies. He would sigh with every question (eg about cover/period etc) and was a real disappointment to deal with.

While I know EBM have a great name, and it may have been just the guy having a bad day, but it did make me go elsewhere. Perhaps use it as some constructive criticism for improvement for your call centre?

Feel free to PM me for more details if you feel its warranted.

Dave

I will do just that, thanks. You probably did catch someone on an off day, but that always sways me too. To be honest this is something that is being worked on quite heavily right now and fortunately that scenario is few and far between.

That's good the cover periodic, the PDS is a bit ambiguous which can leave claims down to interpretation.
 
Brett C- Thanks for replying to this post. I actually was wondering what the name of that landlord insurer was I saw on here- now I know it was EMC and I can research it further.

It's all fairly new to me these 'landlord insurance specialists'. I'll put EMC, TICA, and Terri Scheer on my list to review. But I have to make a quick decision.

I see that EMC does Business insurance too. Might have to investigate that one too, after Elders have increased the premium from $2837.87 last year to $5203.90 this year. I do like Elders being in Traralgon, and particularly feel that the owner/operator is really approachable and does good work (but I've never had to claim there). It just seems to be a big jump. But that is off topic for IP's.

Thanks for letting me know about EMC.
 
Brett C- Thanks for replying to this post. I actually was wondering what the name of that landlord insurer was I saw on here- now I know it was EMC and I can research it further.

It's all fairly new to me these 'landlord insurance specialists'. I'll put EMC, TICA, and Terri Scheer on my list to review. But I have to make a quick decision.

I see that EMC does Business insurance too. Might have to investigate that one too, after Elders have increased the premium from $2837.87 last year to $5203.90 this year. I do like Elders being in Traralgon, and particularly feel that the owner/operator is really approachable and does good work (but I've never had to claim there). It just seems to be a big jump. But that is off topic for IP's.

Thanks for letting me know about EMC.

You mean EBM?? Yes, we do all types of insurance, we are the largest privately owned and operated insurance broker in Australia. That's certainly a big jump with your insurance but there may be factors. If you want someone to speak to just send me a private message and I will make sure you get the right person/phone number.
 
I Sent a message to EBM via their website. They rang me the next day but I couldn't talk. They rang back and were very helpful and professional.
 
Do you also have RACV landlord insurance and if so any thoughts on it?

I have my building insurance with RACV for all the properties.

I was absolutely amazed at the fantastic support I received from them when one of my properties was hit very badly Christmas Day with the floods.

I did NOT have contents insurance but RACV organised replacement carpet, through CarpetOne, moving of the furniture and removal of the damaged carpet. The claim was approved in 2 days. When I questioned how come it was approved when I only had building insurance the reply was that the flooding was covered under the building insurance.

I had to pay the first $300 and my premium will go up 10% this year but it was fantastic service.

Chris
 
In the end I went with what relatives have told me, what was in the landlord pack with the real estate agent and a bit of gut feeling and went with Terri Scheer- for both building and tenant protection. Hopefully we won't be using it.
 
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