This week, law changes to the Residential Tenancies legislation is set to strengthen renter’s rights. It aims to transition a landlord’s rental house into a tenant’s home. Looking specifically at landlord insurance, the change that will have the most ramifications on landlord insurance is the removal of no-cause evictions. Essentially,…
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Homes that are rented out to short-staying paying guests are experiencing booking cancellations and reduced occupancy (loss of income) due to fears and government restrictions relating to Covid-19. We take a look at whether insurance provides cover. Covid-19, also known as the Coronavirus has caused major impact to visitor travel…
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Covering yourself for an unexpected event that leads to damage and financial loss is exactly what insurance is for. For house and contents insurance, you are most likely to think of your typical risks that might include fire, property flooding or theft of contents. However, insurance goes much further the…
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Christmas is the busiest time of year …. for burglars. House insurance is just one part of managing your house and contents risk. Heres a guide on protecting your property. It’s coming into that time of year where we like to take a load off – relax for…
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Having started a company that challenged the way things have always been done in insurance, our director, Rene Swindley, who is the recipient of the 2018 Young Insurance Professional of the Year, was asked to speak to the 2019 Insurance Council of New Zealand Conference on…
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The current situation – Duty of full disclosure Duty is on you to disclose anything that may affect the insurance company’s decision to cover you. When you apply for insurance you are asked declaration questions by the insurance company. You are expected to answer these to…
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Hamilton, New Zealand – 1st October 2019 Specialist online property insurer, Initio, has been named as a finalist in the 2019 New Zealand Insurance Industry Awards, run by the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance (ANZIIF). Nominated as ‘Innovation of the Year’, the Waikato-based insuretech is…
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When you think about claims, people generally jump to their own worst fear of their property burning to the ground, and that’s exactly why we all buy insurance. Big marketing hypes insurance products as providing ‘peace of mind’, but what you’re literally purchasing is compensation in the event you…
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Auckland, New Zealand – Initio media release New tenancy legislation comes in effect today under the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2019 (RTAA). Among other things, the RTAA attempts to clarify liability for property damage between tenants and landlords. As a specialist online landlord property insurance provider, Initio handles landlord property…
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On 30th of July 2019 changes to the legislation around tenant damage and meth contamination were passed into law. The Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2019 will: limit tenants’ liability for careless damage in rental properties to the landlord’s insurance policy excess…
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There are a number of reasons why your premiums may have seen a recent rise. Some of those reasons are associated with passing on costs such as recent claims and securing reinsurance, but the most recent hike will be due to increases in government levies. Levies are charges that are…
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The requirement for 3 monthly property inspections forms part of most landlord insurance policies. A rental property that is inspected regularly is less likely to be ill treated by its tenants, and if the property does suffer some damage it is easier to establish what and when it happened. There…
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Initio is loving local real estate ‘disruptor’, Hermitty, the new website that helps people save time, stress and thousands of dollars by swapping homes permanently instead of selling them. Swapping homes creates an even playing field. It doesn’t matter what each property is…
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What is EQC Cover? The initio house, rental and holiday home insurance policies provide automatic cover for earthquake damage, with assistance from the EQC. The Earthquake Commission (EQC) is a Government insurer designed to provide insurance for residential houses when there is a natural disaster. The EQC does not provide…
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There’s a lot of talk about the ‘pitfalls‘ of renting your home out on airbnb or bookabach. Local councils are cracking down on short-term rental property owners, with the result being that your profitability suffers. Like any business, increases in…
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Holiday home insurance is good but risk management is even better Identifying and eliminating risks in your holiday home is important for the ongoing enjoyment of your property. As Initio insurance handles a large number of holiday home claims, it has identified the top 3 causes of loss…
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Do you know what goes on in your property? One of our customers suffered a devastating house fire at their multi-unit rental property. Here are some basic proactive steps you can take to protect your property. Check power points for overloading and consider installing additional power points Install…
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Initio, the first insuretech company in New Zealand to provide instant online house insurance, announces that it has given even more control to customers by launching another NZ first, Live Policy. Live Policy means that customers can instantly modify or add to their insurance in an on-demand fashion without having…
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Do you know what goes on in your property? With Summer on its way, its time to think about BBQ’s, beach holidays, and home security. If you are going away, you should consider storing valuables inside the home or garage and out of sight of prying eyes. A number of…
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Often when we talk to our customers, and they tell us how much they love initio; unfortunately that can be followed by a but…. The most common ‘but’ we hear is that they don’t want the same excess for their home and contents. We agreed that was a reasonable request…
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We are excited to announce that initio has been named a finalist for the Underwriting Agency of the Year at the 2018 New Zealand Insurance Industry Awards. A huge thanks to the initio team, our customers and supporters. Also, congratulations to all the finalists. Especially our friends at …
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If you plan on renting out a room or your house to short term tenants, there are some things you need to consider. One of the most important is how it will affect your insurance cover. Non-Disclosure Failing to tell your insurance company about the change in occupancy could result…
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At Initio we use our technology to pay claims. We’ve made it our mission to cut the nonsense and pay claims fast. Our best yet is money in a customers bank account within an hour of us opening the claim. We call this the initio 6 star experience.
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Do you know what goes on in your property? One of initio’s largest claims was contamination caused by a methamphetamine laboratory that was discovered during a police raid. While these kids are simply enjoying experimenting with their new science lab, the lab set up in your rental property might not…
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Most home insurance policies will not cover you for construction related damage. For example, if a tradies skill saw catches on fire and burns part of your home your home insurance policy would not pay the claim. Or if you removed a window, and an unexpected storm passes through causing…
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Do you know what goes on in your property? One of initio’s first ever claims was a large fire caused by a child playing with matches in a wardrobe. While this is rather cliche, it does happen, and the consequences can be very serious. Fortunately, working smoke alarms meant no…
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Until the government changes the standard, contamination over the current 1.5mg/100cm2 limit will trigger a landlord insurance claim. It is concerning that the Real Estate Agents Authority moved so quickly to only declaring limits over 15mg/100cm2. Continue to do your due diligence when purchasing property as contaminated homes (over 1.5mg/100cm)…
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Each year initio sees a significant rise in claims during the winter months. Traditionally winter is time of the year when we see the most storms, flooding and water damage. Winter is also when we spend the most time indoors. Not surprisingly most residential house fires occur during winter.
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Your home insurance policy does not cover you for construction related damage while your are renovating your home. For example, if a tradies skill saw catches on fire and burns part of your home your home insurance policy would not pay the claim. Or if you removed a window, and an…
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After causing considerable damage and devastation in Tonga, Gita is threatening to hit New Zealand. Met Service have issued heavy rain warnings and strong wind warnings covering a wide expanse of the country. States of emergency have been declared in Christchurch and Buller. If you are affected by flooding and…
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