Keeping your home and belongings secure with a comprehensive home insurance policy.
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Your home is likely to be the most valuable asset you’ll ever own, so it’s important to keep it safe from any potential damage. That’s where a home insurance policy comes in handy. Finding the right policy could be the difference between paying thousands of dollars more in potential damage repairs or other costs, which is why it pays to research and compare before choosing an insurer. In this guide, we take an in-depth look at home insurance, how it works and how you can find a policy that suits your needs through comparing the best options on offer.
Home insurance functions in a similar way to many other types of insurance: it covers your property for various forms of damage it may sustain. In its most basic form, home insurance will solely provide coverage in this area, with usual examples of damage covered in a home insurance policy including:
You can also take out a contents insurance policy, which covers you financially in the event that one or more of your items are stolen, damaged or destroyed. Like any other insurance policy, the types of damage and the circumstances in which they occurred that are covered will differ between insurers, but most will either offer an equivalent value to replace the possession or exchange the old one for a new one.
However, homeowners can elect to combine their home insurance and contents insurance policies into one home and contents insurance policy. A home and contents insurance policy is typically more affordable when it comes to the cost of premiums, as you’re sticking with the one provider rather than two. In this case, insurers will usually provide a discount for taking out a combined policy with them rather than shop around for the best of both individually. As a result, your insurance payments become more simplified, as it’s easier to pay one bill for everything at once rather than two separate payments on different pay cycles.
Depending on your personal and financial situation, you may be looking for one of several different types of home insurance policy. Consider some of the following if you don’t necessarily fit the mould of a standard home and contents insurance customer.
Building insurance
This is another name for home insurance, so it provides you with cover to your home for damage caused by extreme weather or intentional third-party damage. In some cases, internal fixtures like plumbing and built-in cabinets can also be covered by a building insurance policy, as well coverage for any potential legal liability in relation to someone sustaining an injury whilst on your property. This means that it can help fund the costs incurred should your matter end up in court.
In terms of what type of person would look for a building insurance policy, these are more suitable for homeowners who have a freestanding property, rather than a unit, apartment or attached townhouse.
Contents insurance
As mentioned above, contents insurance focuses its attention on providing coverage for potential damage to your belongings. The items that you’re able to insure don’t even necessarily have to be incredibly valuable; while some of the most common insured possessions include televisions, computers, furniture and electrical appliances, it can cover items as simple as your kids’ toys or sporting equipment.
There are two main types of contents insurance that you’ll encounter in the comparison process: new for old and replacement value cover. New for old will cover you for the replacement of a lost or damaged item with a new or equivalent one, regardless of the condition of the original. Replacement value, though, will cover you only for the value of the original at the time it was lost or damaged. New for old provides more extensive coverage in this regard, but the trade-off is that replacement value cover is generally cheaper.
Landlord insurance
Obviously, this kind of insurance is designed for customers who own an investment property and are renting it out to another person or people. There is an inherent risk associated with entrusting your property to a third party, as you’re not really in control of what they can and can’t do while you’re not there. In terms of its coverage, it’ll typically cover the same sorts of areas relating to property damage, including permanent fixtures. Some policies will also offer cover for lost rental income if your tenants become unable to pay or if your property becomes unliveable for a period.
Renters insurance
Just because you don’t own the house doesn’t mean you don’t have to think about insurance. Renters are still at as much risk of having their personal belongings damaged, destroyed or stolen, so a renters’ contents insurance policy wouldn’t go astray. Depending on the severity of the damage sustained and the nature of the event that caused them, as well as the policy, renters could also be eligible for coverage for the cost of temporary accommodation or emergency contents storage.
Flood, fire or storm damage insurance
Insurance for extreme weather events is usually covered by home or building insurance, but different policies may omit certain types of damage from their coverage. As a result, these can often be purchased as optional extras on your policy. Be careful to read the fine print with these conditions, as insurers will often define what constitutes flood, fire or storm damage differently, such as covering damage caused by water stemming from a lake or creek but not the ocean, for example. If you’re living in an area that’s readily affected by any of these types of events, you should ensure that you’ll be covered. Your premiums will probably go up if you’re in this situation, though.
As mentioned previously, no two home and contents insurance policies are the same when it comes to the amount of coverage that they’ll provide you. An example of this may be that a flood runs through your area and causes significant internal and external damage to your home. Under some insurance policies, a weather event like this wouldn’t be covered. In cases like these, you should keep your eye out specifically for the areas in which some policies are lacking and others cater for.
Another area to look out for is the extent to which you’re covered for potential damage to your possessions. You’re likely to find that insurance providers will implement a cap on their policies for the maximum they’ll be able to reimburse you for if you make a claim on any contents. If you have a few items that are of particular value, you’ll probably want to look for an insurer whose maximum value coverage extends closer to its actual value.
This is one of the easier ways to compare home and contents insurance policies, but that makes it no less valid. Finding the right insurance policy price-wise can save you a considerable amount in the long run, particularly when you’re covering something as long-standing and permanent as your home. You should try to give coverage and cost as equal a balance as you can in the comparison process, as good coverage for an exorbitant price, as well as cheap insurance for poor coverage, should be avoided where possible. Savvy’s comparison tools are designed to do just that, so these will come in handy for you.
Different insurers will advertise different optional extras for their home and contents insurance policies. These will be added to your policy at an extra cost but widen the net cast by the coverage of your existing policy. To use the option cited above, taking out flood cover or insurance as an optional extra on your policy could save you a significant amount of money and stress. In situations like these, it’s certainly safer to pay that little bit extra for your premiums to ensure safety and peace of mind.
While not typically included in the standard home and contents insurance policies offered by insurers, covering accidental damage in your home is definitely worth considering as an optional extra. In most cases, this would cover unintentional breakage of glass items and televisions, damage to walls or a major spillage that stains your carpet. Insurers will have exclusions and different definitions of accidental, so keep your eye on the fine print.
This optional extra, also known as fusion damage, covers your major appliances or equipment if their motor burns out or stops functioning properly. This can apply to fridges, washing machines, dishwashers and other essential household appliances. Motor burnout cover will also typically insure damage to these appliances due to the same causes as are covered in standard home insurance policies: some extreme weather, theft or vandalism are all covered for the most part.
Contents insurance covers damage to your valuables in your home, but it won’t always provide the same protection once you remove them from your premises. Losing a valuable item is far easier once out of your house, so if you’re particularly forgetful or clumsy, this optional extra might be the way to go for you.
If your home is damaged to an extent where it no longer becomes safe or reasonable for you to stay there, some insurers will offer optional cover for the cost of temporary accommodation under certain circumstances. This can obviously be very useful if you suddenly and unexpectedly find yourself without a place to stay due to unforeseen circumstances rendering your home temporarily unliveable.
Some insurers include cover for vet bills as an optional extra on their home and contents insurance. This may only apply to your pet if the cause of its injury is covered, but you may be able to find some insurers who include illness in their cover as well.
Quantum Savvy Pty Ltd (ABN 78 660 493 194) trades as Savvy and operates as an Authorised Credit Representative 541339 of Australian Credit Licence 414426 (AFAS Group Pty Ltd, ABN 12 134 138 686). We are one of Australia’s leading financial comparison sites and have been helping Australians make savvy decisions when it comes to their money for over a decade.
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© Copyright 2024 Quantum Savvy Pty Ltd T/as Savvy. All Rights Reserved.
© Copyright 2024 Quantum Savvy Pty Ltd T/as Savvy. All Rights Reserved.
Quantum Savvy Pty Ltd (ABN 78 660 493 194) trades as Savvy and operates as an Authorised Credit Representative 541339 of Australian Credit Licence 414426 (AFAS Group Pty Ltd, ABN 12 134 138 686). We are one of Australia’s leading financial comparison sites and have been helping Australians make savvy decisions when it comes to their money for over a decade.
We’re partnered with lenders, insurers and other financial institutions who compensate us for business initiated through our website. We earn a commission each time a customer chooses or buys a product advertised on our site, which you can find out more about here, as well as in our credit guide for asset finance. It’s also crucial to read the terms and conditions, Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) or credit guide of our partners before signing up for your chosen product. However, the compensation we receive doesn’t impact the content written and published on our website, as our writing team exercises full editorial independence.
For more information about us and how we conduct our business, you can read our privacy policy and terms of use.
