Home INSURANCE in Victoria, Australia?

[Tejay0]

Hi, as in the subject this question may apply to Austrlian AirBNB hosts.

I have a 3 br house in North Frankston, which I used to host two of the bedrooms as Private rooms thru my AirBNB pages. But now I've had to myself move interstate to do a 2 year full time university course, so now all three bedrooms (WHOLE HOUSE) are available. I will write a new page (listing) to advertise the whole house as well as the individual rooms.

However today I got around to informing my insurers about my relocation to NSW, and that my house in Victoria is cleaned and managed by a friend at reasonable rates.

Suddenly they upped my insurance by more than double, and this was contrary to their SALES peoples advice. I am not questioning their policies or prices, but would like to know what other insurance options there are for me.

A few points;

1) Obviously the house is fully furnished, complete with appliances,

2) AirBNB apparently does provide some insurance, but my intuition tells me not to rely solely upon AirBNB. Especially if something were to happen that is not related to AirBNB, airBNB guests, or when there's no guests.

My previous insurer was charging ~ $850/pa (building only). I'd be happy to pay that much, but they asked for over $1,700 (again building only) and this has made me think about asking you folks, what/which insurer do you suggest I make enquiries with? And this time I will also have to insure the furniture as I will not be there to supervise or oversea.

To be able to afford cleaning and turn over costs I will be asking that whole house guests book minimum 3 days, and single room guests book minimum one week.

Presently my airBNB is not listed but I would say think of an economicly priced modest furnished house, about an hours walk to the beach, or 15 minutes to shops, parks, swimming pool etc.

Suggestions for Insurers please?

Thank you,

Tejay.

[Frances3408]

@Tejay0. Hi Tejay, I have found that all building insurance has gone up at around the same rate for both home residence and investment property. I think more people opting out means the insured are cross subsidising the claims from more natural disasters with low risk to high risk areas (ie low risk are now paying even more). Is it possible the increase is due to a renewal brought forward as a result of change of purpose? Also $850 pa seems very cheap- high excess?

The other thing to be aware of is that some insurers have out clauses if the property is not occupied for more than 60 days.

For STR contents I use Terri Sheer- pretty straight forward premiums and cover; can also be slightly cheaper if DIY landlord. Good phone service if you have questions. Savings if you bundle with building.

Aircover isnt a policy, its like our Magic Pudding- everyone assumes they can just keep claiming  from it but the pudding keeps running away 😉

[Tejay0]

@Frances3408thank you for your reply;

"Is it possible the increase is due to a renewal brought forward as a result of change of purpose? Also $850 pa seems very cheap- high excess?"

The Insurance guy was saying number one reason was this time I won't be living there, and number two reason was because AirBNB is classed as 'short term' rentals.

My excess was high. I mean, I have not made a claim with this insurer yet and it's been at least two years. So I figured I'm here, supervising and selecting guests, if I make less claims, why worry about a higher excess. But now I have moved out. So maybe the claims may increase, and also the excess may bite.

What specifically is an 'Outclause'? And who do they mean will not be occupying it for more than 60 days? Myself, the owner, or no guests for 60 days? I will have guests at least every week, even if only paying for one nighter at $50.

I looked at Terri-Scheer, and their underwriter seems to be Suncorp. Terri Scheer may be reasonable but in the past Suncorp was getting a bit pricey for me. They were also selective about minimum guest stays of one month for claims. Which is why I had switched to Youi. But now Youi has become expensive.

@Frances3408thank you for your suggestion and I will enquire with Terry-Scheer.

Tejay.

[Frances3408]

@Tejay0. I guessed cheap as I also host a modest 3 bed and the owner told me the Iatest renewal for $300k building insurance was $1400 after discount. Its 100m2 internally.

I think under Terri Sheer (and others) its 60 days with no one occupying it; leads to increased risk of vandals and squatters.  So regular guests is good 🙂

Out clause simply meant they potentially get out of paying the claim under a clause you need to read about in the docs.

Also having security cameras helped reduce the building premiums slightly.