Landlord Insurance

Cover for your residential investment property

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Landlord Insurance

TIO’s Landlord Insurance is designed to cover the cost of replacement or repair needed when certain events occur that damage your residential investment property and have a rental agreement in place. It can also cover contents you provide for your tenant’s use.*

Depending on the cover you choose, your policy can insure you from financial loss if your buildings are damaged or destroyed, or if your contents are damaged, stolen or lost along with the option to include cover for Rent Default & Theft by Tenant for an additional premium.


For full details of the standard conditions, limits and exclusions on all our cover options please refer to the Product Disclosure Statement, Key Facts Sheet and any supplementary PDS (where applicable).

Landlord buildings insurance is designed to cover the physical structures, such as the house itself, garage, sheds, permanently installed swimming pool and decks.

See a full list of what is covered under Landlord Buildings cover.

For full details of the standard conditions, limits and exclusions on all our cover options please refer to the Product Disclosure Statement, Key Facts Sheet and any supplementary PDS (where applicable).

The Landlord Buildings and Landlord Contents Key Fact Sheets (KFS) also sets out some information about the cover.

what Landlord Buildings insurance covers

Your permanently installed swimming pool is covered under your buildings insurance; however the water and chemicals are not covered.

Fixed domestic appliances that are permanently connected to electricity, gas or water, like:

  • air conditioners,
  • ovens,
  • dishwashers,
  • hot water systems or
  • fixed ceiling fans and light fittings
are all covered under buildings insurance.

Trees, shrubs, hedges and plants that are planted in the ground are covered under building insurance, a $5,000 limit applies for all insured incidents except:

  • Storm, storm surge, cyclone, rainwater and run-off, or
  • Flood
In which case a $500 limit applies.

Solar panels are covered under your Buildings policy (as long as the value of the solar panels is calculated in the Buildings sum insured). Plus, if your home is completely destroyed by an insured event and needs to be rebuilt we will provide you with up to an additional $5,000 (after deduction of any government or council rebates) to make your home more environmentally friendly.

Motor vehicles are not covered under buildings or contents insurance however you can view the options available to insure your car.

What’s covered

    • Buildings Cover

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Buildings optional covers

Apply to add any of these optional covers for an additional premium and greater cover.

    • Disaster cover1

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    • Rent Default and Theft by Tenant

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What insured events you are covered for

No matter which cover you choose, TIO provides cover for a range of insured events.

    • Accidental damage cover

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    • Fire or smoke (including bushfires and grassfires)

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    • Storm, storm surge2, cyclone2, rainwater or run-off

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    • Water or other liquid damage

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    • Theft or burglary

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    • Explosion

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    • Accidental breakage of glass or ceramic items

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    • Impact damage

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    • Vandalism or malicious damage

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    • Lightning

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    • Earthquake or tsunami

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    • Riot or civil commotion

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    • Flood2

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    • Motor burnout

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Buildings cover – additional benefits

We want to make sure that your policy offers you great features. So, if we agree to pay a claim for loss or damage to your buildings, we may also cover you for the following additional benefits. In most cases additional benefits are paid in addition to your Buildings sum insured and unless stated otherwise, no excess will apply.

In order to be sure that you are covered under this policy you should always contact us for approval before you incur expenses you wish to claim. If you do not, we will pay for expenses incurred to the amount we would have authorised had you asked us first.

    • Rental costs after an insured incident

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    • Making your buildings environmentally friendly

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    • Debris removal

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    • Landlord contents

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    • Rebuilding and professional fees

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    • Building code compliance costs

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Landlord contents insurance is designed to cover items at your property – from furniture, removable domestic appliances and white goods which belong to you as the landlord, and that you have provided for the use of your tenant.

This also covers your carpets and window furnishings. See a full list of what is covered under Landlord Contents cover.

For full details of the standard conditions, limits and exclusions on all our cover options please refer to the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and any applicable supplementary PDS before making a decision to purchase the insurance.

The Landlord Buildings and Landlord Contents Key Fact Sheets (KFS) also sets out some information about the cover.

what Landlord Contents insurance covers

Your curtains and internal blinds are covered under contents insurance.

White goods such as fridges or washing machines are covered under contents insurance unless fixtures or covered by Buildings cover.

Light fittings which are not permanently installed to the buildings are covered under contents insurance.

If your buildings or contents are damaged by an insured incident that we have agreed to cover and your buildings can’t be lived in by your tenant, or we agree access to or the use of your buildings was not possible we’ll pay for your loss of rent on the buildings. See the PDS for full details of the conditions, limits and exclusions.

Motor vehicles are not covered under buildings or contents insurance however you can view the options available to insure your car.

What’s covered

    • Contents

      View details

Contents optional covers

Apply to add any of these optional covers for an additional premium and greater cover.

    • Rent Default and Theft by Tenant

      View details

What insured events you are covered for

No matter which cover you choose, TIO provides protection for a range of insured events.

    • Accidental loss or damage

      View details
    • Fire or smoke (including bushfires and grassfires)

      View details
    • Storm, storm surge2, cyclone2, rainwater or run-off

      View details
    • Water or other liquid damage

      View details
    • Theft or burglary

      View details
    • Explosion

      View details
    • Accidental breakage of glass or ceramic items

      View details
    • Impact damage

      View details
    • Vandalism or malicious damage

      View details
    • Lightning

      View details
    • Earthquake or tsunami

      View details
    • Riot or civil commotion

      View details
    • Flood2

      View details
    • Motor burnout

      View details

Landlord contents cover – additional benefits

We want to make sure that your policy offers you great features. Unless we have stated differently under one of the additional benefits listed below, the benefit will only apply where we have accepted a claim for loss or damage caused by an insured event.

Some of the following additional benefits are paid in addition to your contents sum insured. Check each of the additional benefits for details.

In most cases, no excess applies for these benefits, unless stated otherwise.

In order to be sure that you are covered under this policy you should always contact us for approval before you incur expenses you wish to claim. If you do not, we will pay for expenses incurred to the amount we would have authorised had you asked us first.

    • Rental cost after an insured incident

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    • Contents in the open air at the insured address

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    • Debris removal

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Did you know

You must tell us as soon as reasonably possible if your property has not been lived in (or will not be lived in) for more than 60 consecutive days.
You must tell us as soon as reasonably possible if your building is in the course of construction or there are any alterations, additions, demolition, repairs to or decorations of the buildings costing more than $75,000.
You must tell us as soon as reasonably possible if you remove any security devices that were specifically required by us.
When the buildings in which the contents are located are part of a strata title development, the term contents also includes fixtures and fitting and other structural improvements which are not insurable by the body corporate.
You must tell us as soon as reasonably possible if you commence renting out your investment property to short term tenants with a rental agreement for less than 90 days.

Policy Documents and Key Fact Sheets

We do not provide advice based on any consideration of your objectives, financial situation or needs. Terms, conditions, limits and exclusions apply. Before making a decision please refer to the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS), any applicable supplementary PDS and Landlord Buildings or Landlord Contents Key Fact Sheet is also available for reference.

Value my Buildings

Buildings Replacement Cost Calculator

Value my Buildings

For home owners and landlords

Disclaimer: The calculators will estimate a replacement cost by using the general information about your home buildings and contents provided by you. The estimate may not be appropriate for you and you’ll need to assess its suitability given your knowledge of your property and contents.

It’s your responsibility to ensure that the level of cover will be adequate to repair or replace your buildings and home contents in the event of a covered claim.

Frequently Asked Questions

The cost of your insurance is called a ‘premium’. Your premium will depend on a number of factors and can change each year when you renew your policy. Your premium for each period of insurance will be shown on your policy schedule. There are a number of factors that determine how your Landlord Insurance premium is calculated, including but not limited to:

  • Your risk profile. We work this out using a number of factors, such as:
    • Where your investment property is located
    • The type of property you’re insuring
    • The amount and type of cover you require
    • The relevant claims history of your property
    • The likelihood of a claim being made on your policy
    • The value of the insured investment property and/or contents cover (sum insured)
  • Any discounts that may apply
  • Any compulsory government charges such as Stamp Duty and GST
  • Fire Services Levy if they apply to the State or Territory where your home is located
  • Any other charges we tell you of
  • The excess you choose3

Get a quick Landlord insurance quote today!

We‘ll pay rental costs after an insured event as part of your Landlord Insurance policy when you have buildings cover or the building is part of a strata title development and you have contents cover*.

If your building is damaged by an insured event to an extent that the tenant can’t live in it, or access to use your building wasn't possible for a minimum of seven days, we’ll pay for loss of rent on the insured property for the time necessary to reinstate your building, or for which access to the building is denied, or up to a maximum of 12 months, whichever period of time is the lesser. This benefit is automatically included.

Note. that this is different to the optional Rent Default & Theft by Tenant cover which is available to be added to new Landlord Insurance policies which don’t already have this cover. If your policy is up for renewal and you’d like to add this optional cover, contact us on 131 846.

Call us as soon as reasonably possible on 131 846 and advise the claims consultant of what has happened. Try to get names and addresses of any witnesses to the event which has brought about the claim. Don't make any admissions of liability and don’t attempt to settle any claim made against you.

If you do, we may reduce or refuse your claim to the extent we’re prejudiced. The claims consultant will advise you of what steps you need to take and will help you through the Landlord Insurance claim process.

Landlord Insurance is designed to cover you against financial losses associated with the damage or loss of the residential investment property you own. Landlord insurance isn’t a legal requirement, but if you have a mortgage on your property, most banks and mortgage lenders require you to purchase Landlord Buildings insurance as security to safeguard themselves against financial risk caused by unexpected damage or loss to your property.

Lenders may require you to list them as an interested party when buying insurance and may also request proof of insurance (Certificate of Currency) before the loan is finalised or for each year your mortgage is held with them.

To request a Certificate of Currency for your existing TIO Landlord Insurance policy, call us on 131 846.

If you choose to get both your investment building and the contents you’ve provided for your tenants’ use covered with us, you can do so with the convenience of having them on the one Landlord Insurance policy. This means you get the great benefits of our Buildings cover and Contents cover, and only have one policy number.

Additionally, if you need to make a claim for both your building and your contents due to the same insured event, you’ll only need to pay one excess. Here’s an example of how your combined Landlord Buildings and Contents policy could work:

Disaster strikes and your investment property’s building, as well as the contents inside it that you’re responsible for as a landlord, have been totally destroyed by an insured event. Where we’ve agreed to accept your claim, you’ll only need to pay one excess.

With your building insurance, we’ll pay the cost to rebuild your building which has been completely destroyed and also pay up to $5,000 (after deduction of any government or council rebates you’re eligible for) to make your property more environmentally friendly, e.g. by installing any combination of a rainwater tank, solar power systems, hot water heat exchange system, and grey water recycling system.

We’ll also replace your contents that you’ve insured with us up to the policy limits, like your carpets, curtains, furniture, and household goods, including utensils and domestic appliances that you’ve supplied for your tenants’ use.

With TIO, Home Insurance offers cover for your family home and contents. Landlord Insurance is designed for properties where rent is being collected and the policy holder isn't a resident of the property. For full details of the standard conditions and exclusions, refer to the relevant PDS and any supplementary PDS (where applicable).

Unless we state otherwise in the PDS, when you make a claim under the policy, you’ll need to pay an excess as a contribution towards your claim.

Charging an excess also helps to keep the cost of premiums down by reducing the number of small claims. The amount and type of excess you have to pay will be shown in your policy schedule or in your PDS.

For full details of conditions and exclusions, refer to your policy schedule or the relevant PDS and any supplementary PDS (where applicable).

If you have added solar panels, you do not need to specify them on your insurance policy. However, to make sure you are adequately covered in the event of a home insurance claim. It is important that you increase your sum insured to reflect any changes you've made to the property.

For full details of the conditions, limits and exclusions on all our cover options please refer to the Product Disclosure Statement and any supplementary PDS (where applicable).

We understand the unique conditions faced in the Territory

TIO is based in Darwin and our strength lies in our solid understanding of the conditions faced within the Territory year after year.

Find out more


Talk to a local
Our contact centre and claims teams live and work in the Territory, so we know Territory conditions.
We cover various weather events
With our Buildings and Contents cover, you may be covered for storms, cyclones2, hail, storm surge2 and flood2.
Trusted since 1979
TIO was established in 1979 to provide Territorians with a range of insurance options to choose from. We are as committed and passionate about the Northern Territory as you are.

*Conditions Apply

1. Disaster cover

Only available in conjunction with buildings cover. Following a significant event that causes widespread property destruction, like cyclone, earthquake or flood, it is common for building costs to increase significantly in line with demand.

If you select Disaster Cover, we will pay up to an additional 30% of your Buildings sum insured if the cost of repairing or replacing your building exceeds your sum insured following loss or damage caused by a named cyclone (including storm surge), flood or earthquake (including tsunami).

2. 72-hour waiting period for loss or damage occurring from cyclones, storm surge or flood

We don’t provide cover for any loss of or damage to your property caused by cyclone, flood, or storm surge, during the first 72 hours after you first take out or increase the cover under an existing policy. For full details of conditions and exclusions, refer to the relevant PDS.

3. Option to change your excess

Not available with respect to any additional compulsory excess, imposed excess applied to the policy or to the Portable contents excess. Any reduction in premium won’t be applied to government taxes and charges, Flood, or to optional covers (if available and selected) including Portable contents. Minimum premiums apply.