Contents insurance covers your household items and personal belongings if they're damaged, lost or stolen.
This can include your furniture, clothes, computer, fridge, television, tools and jewellery.
If you own your home, you can bundle your contents insurance with your home insurance. This is usually cheaper than having separate policies.
If you don’t need home insurance though, you can also buy contents insurance by itself.
If you rent or if you live in a strata property, home insurance will be covered by your landlord or strata corporation. But you'll still need contents insurance to cover your belongings, and to cover legal liability.
Even if you don’t think your belongings are worth insuring, it may be worth having contents insurance for the legal liability cover. This covers your legal liability when you’re found to be legally responsible for damage or personal injury to a third party or their property.
Contents insurance: product features to check
When you’re choosing contents insurance, the insurance policy-related things to check are:
What is included as ‘contents’
- Check how the insurer defines ‘contents’ so that you’re not caught out. It’s generally items that are not permanently attached to the home or property. So, for example, floor rugs may be covered, but floorboards may not be. Pot plants might be covered, but garden plants might not. An above-ground pool that can easily be moved might be covered, but and inground pool will not be.
What events are covered
- The insurer will give you a summary of what insured events are covered by the insurance. This will be things like flood, storm, theft, fire, lightning, earthquake, and malicious damage. There are many other events that may be covered.
- To find out if your home is in a natural disaster-prone area, contact your local council. Ask them about flood mapping, historical flood records, cyclone risk and the Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) of your home. That will help you work out what insured events to check for when you compare insurance.
Does it cover accidents?
- Most contents insurance doesn't include cover for accidental damage. It may be worth adding this if you want cover for mishaps, such as staining your couch or smashing a vase.
Does it include portable cover?
- Portable contents cover protects some of your belongings away from the house. Examples are things like your handbag, glasses, camera, bicycle, mobile phone, tablet or laptop. There will usually be a per-item value cap, and each insurer will have a list of items they do and don’t include. Portable cover may be an optional extra.
What things are excluded (not insured)
- Contents insurance covers loss and damage caused by defined or insured events. It's worth checking what isn't included. Examples might be damage caused by floods, intentional or criminal damage, or theft if you leave windows or doors unlocked. Also check what items aren't covered and decide if you want to add something. For example, portable items as discussed above. Or valuable items like jewellery and special collections, such as artwork, stamps, rare books or memorabilia.
What are the limits for certain items
- Most policies have maximum amounts on how much you claim for certain items. For example, suppose $1000 is the limit for electrical appliances. If fire destroys your $2000 television, you’ll end up having to pay the difference to replace it.
Work out how much contents insurance you need
Calculate the value of your belongings
Work out what your belongings are worth to see how much cover you need. It will also help you identify what items are worth insuring.
Start by listing all your belongings and how much each item would cost to replace (at today’s prices). Include as many details as possible. For example, serial numbers, receipts, warranties, photos, condition and the date of purchase.
Try the contents calculator and building calculator on the Insurance Council of Australia website, to get an idea of the amount of insurance you might need.
Cover the cost of replacing your belongings
Most contents insurance offers the replacement value of your belongings, sometimes called 'new for old' cover. It covers the full cost of replacing your belongings with new ones, which often cost more. Replacement value gives you the best cover, but it's more expensive.
Some policies offer the value of your lost or damaged belongings. This covers what they are worth at the time they're insured. For example, your fridge might be currently valued at $500, so you get $500 from the insurer. It may cost more to buy a new one of similar quality. This value is likely to depreciate (go down) each year.
When you claim, insurers may repair or replace the damaged items or pay you the amount it would cost to repair or replace them.
Use your phone to take a detailed video of each room of your house, as a way to document the belongings that you have. It creates a visual record for a future claim, and helps prove that you owned the items.
Adjust your excess
Most insurers allow you to adjust your excess and the higher your excess, the lower your insurance premium. Weigh up the difference between having a high premium and low excess, versus the opposite. You may be able to save on your premium by increasing your excess – but you will need to pay more towards a claim that you make.
Take advantage of discounts and benefits
You may pay a lower premium if you bundle your contents insurance with your home insurance, pay annually or apply online.
You could get a discount if you have deadlocks, fire extinguishers, smoke alarms or a security system.
Some insurers offer extra benefits. These could include replacing locks and keys after a break-in, or cover for your belongings when you move house.
If you’re renting, you may notice some insurers offering a product called ‘renter’s insurance’. This is simply contents insurance by another name, but with more exclusions and limits than regular contents insurance. Use the value of your contents and the type of cover you want as the guide to which product works best for you.
Compare contents insurance
Get quotes from more than one insurer to find the best value and a policy that suits your needs.
Insurers have to provide a Key Fact Sheet for their policies, and the government prescribes the information and layout of the documents, so that you can compare like for like.
To read the detail of what’s covered, you can download the product disclosure statement (PDS).
Comparison websites can be useful, but they are businesses and may make money through promoted links. They may not cover all your options. See what to keep in mind when using comparison websites.
Compare these features:
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Premium |
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Excess |
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Cover limits |
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Value of your belongings |
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Settlement |
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Renewing your contents insurance
If you haven’t reviewed your insurance for 12 months or more, it’s easy to become underinsured. Learn more about underinsurance and how to avoid it.
When it's time to renew your policy, update your policy to reflect any changes. For example, add cover for special items or add new items.
Get quotes from a few other insurers to check you're getting the best deal. You may end up paying more if you stay with your current insurer.
Tiana and Simon are burgled
Tiana and Simon moved into a small apartment near the city. They decided to get contents insurance even though their building had a security system.
Two months later, their apartment was burgled. The thief stole Tiana's laptop and some expensive camera equipment.
Although they were very upset, Tiana and Simon were glad they took the time to get the right cover. Tiana has a new laptop, and they have insurance money to replace the camera equipment.