2026 Landlord Insurance Awards

Canstar releases its
2026 Landlord Insurance Awards.

Released: 27 March, 2026

Congratulations to the Award winners

(Winners are listed alphabetically)

AAMI

Building & Contents Insurance Award – Outstanding Value: QLD
Contents Insurance Award – Outstanding Value: Australia
Contents Insurance Award – Outstanding Value: NT
Contents Insurance Award – Outstanding Value: VIC

AAMI has secured a National Award for Contents Cover, reflecting its strong performance across assessed states (scoring third highest). At the state level, AAMI also received Awards for Building & Contents in QLD and Contents Cover in the NT and VIC.

For unit and strata-titled property owners, the policy includes helpful protections such as motor burnout for appliances and new-for-old replacement for household items like carpets, curtains and internal blinds. For standalone houses, AAMI stands out as the only provider in our assessment offering optional full rebuild protection, covering the actual cost to repair a property and helping reduce the risk of underinsurance.

QBE

Building & Contents Insurance Award – Outstanding Value: National
Building & Contents Insurance Award – Outstanding Value: NSW
Building & Contents Insurance Award – Outstanding Value: North QLD
Building & Contents Insurance Award – Outstanding Value: NT
Building & Contents Insurance Award – Outstanding Value: SA
Building & Contents Insurance Award – Outstanding Value: TAS
Building & Contents Insurance Award – Outstanding Value: WA
Building & Contents Insurance Award – Outstanding Value: VIC

QBE has been recognised with the 2026 National Award for Building & Contents, alongside Building & Contents State Awards in NSW, VIC, WA, SA, TAS, NT, and North Queensland.  The policy combines broad coverage with a 5.71% decrease year on year in average premiums across assessed Building & Contents customer profiles. It includes features such as standard accidental damage cover and a $30 million legal liability limit, which contribute to its overall value for landlords of houses and non-strata properties. QBE is also one of the few policies in the assessment to offer cover for holiday lets and short-term rentals.

Suncorp Insurance

Contents Insurance Award – Outstanding Value: National
Contents Insurance Award – Outstanding Value: NSW
Contents Insurance Award – Outstanding Value: North QLD
Contents Insurance Award – Outstanding Value: QLD
Contents Insurance Award – Outstanding Value: SA
Contents Insurance Award – Outstanding Value: TAS
Contents Insurance Award – Outstanding Value: WA

Suncorp Insurance has picked up the National Award for Contents Cover, having secured State Awards across nearly all assessed regions except the NT and VIC. In this year’s assessment, Suncorp offered market-leading pricing across almost all of the Contents Cover customer profiles considered. The policy pairs these competitive premiums with comprehensive cover for property investors, including standard replacement for a wide range of indoor and outdoor contents, making it a strong option for properties in strata settings.

About this year’s awards

The 2026 Landlord Insurance Awards were shaped by a changing market, with some providers — including Australia Post and Virgin Money — exiting the category, and others combining their underwriting and distribution channels.

At the same time, premium trends diverged depending on the level of cover. Building & Contents premiums increased by a population-weighted average of 4.54% over the past year, while Contents Cover remained relatively stable, rising by just 0.38%.

In response, this year’s awards distinguish between Building & Contents and Contents Cover policies, reflecting the different ways property investors insure their assets. This approach ensures a more relevant comparison across products in a shifting market.

“One of the key challenges in comparing landlord insurance is that many important protections like tenant default or rent loss are often structured differently across policies. For our assessment, we standardised these features to reflect a more complete level of cover, allowing for a more meaningful comparison on price. Our award winners stood out for delivering strong overall value when assessed on this like-for-like basis across different property types and locations” – Ellie Cross, Research Analyst.

How we assessed value

When assessing landlord insurance, we consider how policies perform across both cost and coverage.

• Price: Premiums are evaluated alongside the policy excess to reflect the net cost of cover. Where key landlord protections are offered as optional add-ons, we include the cost of these features to ensure pricing reflects a more complete level of cover.
• Features: Coverage is assessed based on the inclusion of features most relevant to landlords, such as protection for loss of rent, tenant-related theft and damage.

Key landlord protections

A core consideration for property investors is protection against interrupted rental income and intentional property damage. These risks are not always addressed by standard home insurance, which is typically designed for owner-occupiers rather than tenanted properties. 

Landlord insurance is generally structured to respond to these unique scenarios, with cover often including:

• Loss of rent and tenant default: Provides cover where rental income stops, either due to a tenant failing to pay or the property becoming uninhabitable following an insured event.
• Malicious damage: Covers intentional damage caused by tenants or their guests, which is commonly excluded under standard home policies.
• Tenant theft: Extends cover to theft by tenants or their guests, addressing a gap where standard policies often only cover theft involving forced entry.

Assessment by property type

Because landlord insurance is typically structured differently depending on the property, our assessment reflects how policies are used in practice:

• Building & Contents (Freestanding Houses): For houses, landlords generally insure both the physical structure and their internal contents under a single combined policy.
• Contents Cover (Strata-titled Properties): For units and townhouses, the building is typically insured separately by a body corporate. In these cases, landlords generally rely on contents-only policies to cover their internal fittings and furnishings.

Who we looked at

To be considered for our Landlord Insurance Awards, policies must meet the following criteria:

• Available to consumers: The policy must be publicly available and accessible to consumers, with sufficient information provided to obtain a quote and understand key features.
• Direct purchase: The policy must be available to purchase directly from the provider, without requiring a broker.
• Offer key landlord protections: The policy must offer cover (either as a standard inclusion or optional add-on) for key landlord risks, including:
• • Theft or burglary by tenants or their guests
  • Malicious damage or vandalism by tenants or their guests
  • Loss of rent due to tenant default

• Underwriting structure: The product must be underwritten by the provider or a related insurer. White-labelled products may also be considered where they offer a distinct value proposition in pricing or features.
• Established in Market: Providers must have been in the market for at least 12 months.

What to keep in mind when considering landlord insurance

Standard vs. Optional Features: Landlord policies typically offer key protections, such as tenant default, either as standard inclusions or optional add-ons, allowing landlords to choose the level of cover that suits their needs.

In our assessment, we observed that for some providers — including Real Insurance and Everyday Insurance — the option to add this cover wasn’t consistently available across all quotes. This suggests availability may vary based on underwriting criteria, so it’s worth checking it’s included if it’s a priority for you.

Building Rebuild Costs: With rising construction costs, the sum insured may not always keep pace with what it would cost to rebuild. To help manage this, some policies include an underinsurance protection buffer above the sum insured to cover unexpected increases. Policies can also offer a full rebuild option, covering the actual cost to repair or replace the property even if it exceeds the sum insured. At the time of assessment, this was only available as an optional feature from AAMI for freestanding houses. It’s important to read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) to understand exactly how a policy handles underinsurance and repair costs.

Short-term Stays: For property investors utilising short-term rental platforms, standard landlord policies often apply specific restrictions or exclusions. In our assessment, cover for short-term rentals was relatively limited across the market, with only a small number of providers – including QBE and Suncorp – offering it.

Always check the fine print: Because every property is different, you should always read the PDS to understand specific coverage limits, weather-related exclusions, and exactly what is required for cover to be provided.

What this award is and isn’t

Our Landlord Insurance Awards are designed to help property investors compare policies based on overall value—balancing the cost of cover with the protections that matter most for rental properties.

What this award is:

• A like-for-like comparison: Landlord policies can be structured differently, with key protections sometimes included as standard or offered as optional add-ons. To allow for a more meaningful comparison, we assess policies on a comparable level of cover.
• A balance of cost and coverage: We don’t just look at the cheapest premium.  We assess how pricing and features work together, including the impact of excess and the cost of key protections.
• Reflective of real-world use: We assess policies based on how landlords typically insure their properties—distinguishing between Building and Contents for houses and Contents-only cover for strata properties.
• Focussed on relevant risks: Our assessment prioritises features that matter most to landlords, including protection for loss of rent, tenant damage, and theft.

What this award isn’t:

• Personal advice: This award doesn’t consider your individual circumstances, property, or financial situation, and shouldn’t be taken as a recommendation.
• A measure of claims experience: Our assessment is based on policy features and pricing. It does not assess how insurers perform at claim time.
• A substitute for the PDS: It’s important to read the PDS and Target Market Determination (TMD) to understand coverage limits, exclusions, and conditions that apply to your policy.
• The only factor to consider: An award is a useful starting point, but it’s important to consider your own needs before making a decision.

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About: Ellie Cross, Research Analyst

Bachelor of Commerce (Finance), University of Queensland

Ellie Cross is a Graduate Research Analyst at Canstar who is involved in the development and delivery of the company’s Star Ratings and Awards. Since joining Canstar in 2026, Ellie has used her Finance major and technical experience to bring an objective, evidence-based approach to evaluating complex financial products and markets.

Ellie’s work is centered on a singular goal: providing everyday individuals with the perspective they need to select the right financial products for their future and save money.

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