Home Insurance After Buying Property in Malaysia: Building Cover for Condos and Landed Homes, Contents and Loan Protection
Home insurance in Malaysia comes in three layers: the building, what is inside it, and the loan. Who insures the building differs between condos and landed homes under the law; your own renovations and furniture are always yours to insure.
In one line: for a condo, the JMB or MC insures the whole building for at least its reinstatement value, revalued every five years. For a landed home, the owner insures it. Contents are not covered by a building policy and need separate cover. With a home loan, banks generally require fire insurance, while MRTA is optional.
The building: who insures it?
| Condo (strata parcel) | Landed home | |
|---|---|---|
| Who insures | Whoever manages the building: the developer during its management period, then the JMB or MC (Strata Management Act 2013, s.93) | The owner. For landed strata (land parcels) the Act says each owner insures his own building (s.97); individually titled houses fall outside the Act and are insured by the owner too |
| What is covered | The whole building against fire, lightning, explosion, burst or overflowing tanks and pipes, windstorm and any other events in the policy | Whatever your policy covers, usually sold as houseowner or fire insurance |
| Sum insured | At least reinstatement value, with a registered valuer’s reinstatement valuation at least every five years, paid from the maintenance account (s.94) | If the sum insured is too low, you bear a proportionate share of any loss |
| Who pays | The maintenance account, i.e. all owners together | The owner |
Insurance money under the statutory policy must go to rebuilding, replacing or repairing the building (s.100). Owners can direct the management body by special resolution to insure against other risks too (s.98).
Contents: always your own responsibility
A houseowner policy covers the building itself. A published product disclosure sheet from one insurer, for example, excludes household contents from the basic cover and treats subsidence, landslip, riot and malicious damage as paid extensions.
Your renovations, furniture and appliances therefore need their own contents cover.
With a home loan: what does the bank require?
- Fire insurance: UOB’s first-time buyer home loan disclosure sheet, for example, states that fire or houseowner insurance on the property pledged to the bank is compulsory, bought from the bank’s panel or any other insurer.
- MRTA: the same sheet states that mortgage reducing term assurance is optional. Our guides explain MRTA and how it differs from MLTA.
Requirements vary by bank; your letter of offer and disclosure sheet govern.
Condo owners: what you can ask about the building policy
- When handing over to the JMB, the developer must deliver the originals of all insurance policies (s.15(3)(h)).
- The MC’s first general meeting decides whether to confirm, vary or extend the insurance the developer took out (s.58).
- If you think the sum insured is too low, or the management body will not pursue a claim, you can apply to the Strata Management Tribunal to vary the amount insured or pursue the claim (Fourth Schedule, Part 1, items 10 and 11).
Not sure which policies your unit needs, how much cover is enough, or how it fits the bank’s requirements? Send me the unit details and your letter of offer and I’ll go through them with you.
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Related
Sources
- Strata Management Act 2013 (Act 757), ss.15, 58, 93, 94, 97, 98 and 100 and the Fourth Schedule (copy hosted by Perbadanan Putrajaya). Document
- UOB home loan product disclosure sheet for first-time buyers (valid as at 22 December 2025): fire/houseowner insurance compulsory, MRTA optional. Document
- Liberty Insurance houseowner product disclosure sheet: scope of cover, contents excluded, proportionate loss when underinsured. Document
Policy terms vary by insurer, and your bank’s requirements are in your letter of offer. Last verified: 12 October 2026.
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