Landlords you should be aware by now that insurance companies have been making changes to their policies because of the rise in methamphetamine related claims. This has increased premiums and excess levels along with payout caps of $30,000.
We highly recommend you check with your insurance provider what these changes are and mean to you as a landlord. Not only from a point of any excess payment or payout caps, but what it is they require you to do, to make sure you are insured under these new polices if you property is contaminated with meth. You don’t want to make a claim for meth contamination then realise that you didn’t follow the right procedure to quality for a claim.
Because of these changes and the fear of landlords having a contaminated property, landlords are getting properties meth tested before and after a tenancy and when looking to purchase an investment property.
There are a lot of insurance companies out there but picking the right one for landlords can be time consuming. Each insurer has different policies which cover for certain things but not others. While other insurance providers cover everything you need as a landlord but the cost is much higher.
Whichever insurance provider you choose make sure it’s not just on price alone. There are many providers who give cheap cover but do not cover the basics like deliberate damage caused by tenants. Sometimes it may cost only a few dollars extra per month to have a comprehensive cover.
Meth is still a big worry for a lot of landlords and with new guidelines coming into effect so it’s important to be ready. The current Ministry of Health guidelines around meth contamination are 0.5 micrograms per 100cm2. This though was based around meth manufacturing not meth use.
The new guidelines the Ministry recommend will be where meth has been only used of a limit of 1.5 micrograms per 100cm2 in carpeted properties and 2.0 micrograms per 100cm2 in uncarpeted properties. The Ministry still recommends to use the current 0.5 micrograms per 100cm2 to stay the same for manufacturing.
With the new laws around meth this will give landlords much needed relief with meth testing and contamination, especially when there is a lot of scare mongering going on from companies that test and clean up meth.
Leave a Reply