Childcare property insurance protects the owner of a childcare centre or kindergarten building that is leased to an operator. It covers the building and the landlord’s fixtures, pays the rent while the centre cannot be used after insured damage, and answers claims against you as the owner. The operator insures the children, the staff and its own fit-out. Fortis Risk Solutions arranges this cover from offices in Box Hill and Hawthorn and reads the lease first, so the two policies fit together.
What Childcare Property Insurance Covers
Childcare property insurance is for the investor or company that owns a childcare centre or kindergarten building and leases it to an operator. It covers the building, the landlord's fixtures, the rent and the owner's legal liability. The operator running the service insures the children, the educators, its fit-out and its fee income under its own policy.
The losses that hurt an owner are the ones that close the centre. A kitchen fire, a burst pipe or a storm through the roof can leave the building unusable for months, and the rent stops while the loan repayments carry on. Insurers also rate the occupancy. A building full of young children brings specific fire and evacuation requirements, so it is priced and underwritten differently from an office at the same value.
The lease decides who insures what. Owners usually insure the structure, the roof, the services and the landlord's fixtures, together with property owner's public liability insurance. The operator insures its fit-out, equipment and the liability of running the service. A lender will usually want its interest noted on the owner's policy. Whether you call it childcare property insurance or childcare building insurance, the building sum insured should reflect the cost to rebuild today, including demolition, professional fees and current building codes, which is rarely the price paid for the property.
Fortis Risk Solutions arranges childcare property insurance from offices in Box Hill and Hawthorn as part of our commercial property insurance range. We read the lease, check the rebuild value and set a loss of rent period that allows for a realistic rebuild. If you run the service as well as owning the building, our childcare centre and kindergarten insurance covers the operator's side.
Who this covers
Owners in this group include:
- Investors who own a childcare centre leased to an operator
- Owners of purpose-built kindergarten and early learning buildings
- Owners of mixed buildings with a childcare tenancy
- Companies and family trusts holding childcare property
- Owner-operators who own the building and run the service
If your property is not listed, ask us. The sections below are the starting point for any owner in the group.
Childcare Property Insurance: Cover Sections and Benefits
Childcare Property Insurance FAQs
It depends on the lease. The owner usually insures the building, the landlord's fixtures, the rent and the liability that comes with owning the property. The operator insures the children in its care, its educators, the fit-out, the equipment and the fees under its own childcare insurance. We read the lease so the owner's policy and the operator's policy meet without a gap.
On the cost to rebuild today, not the purchase price or the market value. The figure should include demolition and debris removal, professional fees, the cost of meeting current building codes and the inflation that runs through a long rebuild. Underinsurance is the most common reason a property claim pays less than expected, and a valuation every few years is cheaper than finding out at claim time.
A loss of rent section pays the rent you would have received while the building cannot be occupied because of insured damage, for the indemnity period set in the schedule. It does not pay for an operator who leaves for other reasons or defaults on the lease. For a specialised building such as a childcare centre, the indemnity period should cover the rebuild plus the time it takes to find a new operator, which can be well over a year.
Yes. Occupancy drives the rating. A childcare centre brings a vulnerable population, specific fire and evacuation requirements and liability claims that insurers treat differently from an office. The operator holds the care related liability and the owner holds the building and the liability of ownership, so both policies need to name the occupancy accurately.
It can be, but vacancy changes the cover. Unoccupied buildings often attract special terms, higher excesses or extra risk controls, and the insurer needs to be told. We arrange suitable cover for the vacant period and check how the loss of rent section responds while the centre is being re-let.
Property wordings turn on occupancy declarations, construction details, flood definitions and the loss of rent basis. FRS helps you declare the tenancy and the construction accurately, set the building sum insured on rebuild cost, compare insurers who write let commercial property and act as your advocate at claim time. We also read the lease, so the owner's cover lines up with the operator's.
Talk to a broker about Childcare Property Insurance
Call 03 7046 3766 on weekdays between 9:30am and 6pm, email admin@fortisrisksolutions.com.au, or send an enquiry and a broker from our Box Hill or Hawthorn office will come back to you about childcare property insurance. Tell us what the business does and what the lease or contract asks for, and we take it from there.