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Home and contents insurance covers the house you own and what is inside it, and for many buyers it is the first policy the bank asks to see before settlement. Apartment owners are different: the owners corporation insures the building, so most need only contents and their own liability. Fortis Risk Solutions compares wording across insurers, checks how each handles flood, accidental damage and valuables taken out of the house, and helps you set a rebuilding figure that reflects current trade costs. Renting it out or leaving it empty can change the cover. After a storm or a break-in, we help you lodge the claim. Call 03 7046 3766 or send an enquiry.
What Home and Contents Insurance Covers
Home and contents insurance protects homeowners and occupants against financial loss when a residential building or personal belongings are damaged. It covers the physical structure of the home and the household contents inside it against events such as fire, storm, theft and accidental damage. That is what lets a household repair or replace what it loses. Whether you own and live in your home, rent a property or invest in residential property, this is the base cover for Australian households.
Home insurance covers the building structure and fixed fittings. Contents insurance covers the household items and personal belongings inside. You can buy the two separately or combine them in one policy.
Insure the building for what it would cost to rebuild today, not what you paid for it. Higher-value homes are usually better placed with prestige home insurance. It sits within our personal insurance range at Fortis Risk Solutions.
Home and Contents Insurance: Cover Sections and Benefits
What Home and Contents Insurance does not cover
A home and contents insurance policy pays for sudden damage and loss. It does not pay to bring a house up to a standard it never had, and it does not treat gradual decline as an insured event. The usual exclusions are:
- Wear and tear, rust, rot, mould and gradual deterioration of the building or its fittings
- Faulty workmanship, poor design and structural defects that existed before the policy started
- Damage that follows a lack of maintenance, such as blocked gutters or a roof left unrepaired
- Actions of vermin, insects and pets, including chewed wiring and damaged carpet
- Flood or landslip where the option has been declined or is not offered at that address
- Loss of jewellery, bicycles and cameras away from the home unless they are specified
- Damage while the home is let, run as a business or left unoccupied beyond the stated period
FRS reads these clauses against how you actually live in the property, so a home office, a long trip overseas or a renovation is disclosed before it turns into a declined claim.
How Home and Contents Insurance premiums are set
Insurers price home and contents insurance on the cost of rebuilding your particular house at your particular address, not on what you paid for it. The factors that move a premium most are:
- The sum insured for the building and the separate sum insured for contents
- The address and its exposure to bushfire, flood, storm and coastal conditions
- Construction type, roof material and the age of the home
- Security at the property, including deadlocks, alarms and sensor lighting
- Claims history at the address and by the people living there
- The excess you choose and options such as accidental damage or specified valuables
- Whether the home is owner occupied, tenanted, or empty for long periods
Under insurance is the common problem, not the premium. Building costs have moved faster than most sums insured, so FRS reviews your figure every year and adjusts it before renewal rather than after a loss.
How to claim on Home and Contents Insurance
Report a loss early. Insurers accept emergency make safe work, but they expect to hear from you before major repairs start and before damaged property is thrown out. The FRS process for a home and contents insurance claim:
- Notify: Call FRS as soon as the damage is found, even if the repair cost is not yet clear
- Make safe and photograph: Make the property safe and photograph the damage before anything is moved
- Report: Report theft, break ins and malicious damage to police, then keep the report number
- Keep the evidence: Hold on to damaged items, receipts, valuations and any quotes you already have
- We lodge and manage: FRS lodges the claim, briefs the assessor and follows the repairer or the cash settlement through to completion
- Review: We review the sums insured and the excess once the claim closes
Contact details and the notification form sit on our make a claim page.
Home and Contents Insurance compared with Landlord Insurance
| Question | Home and Contents | Landlord Insurance |
|---|---|---|
| What it covers | The home you live in and your own belongings | The building, landlord contents and rental income |
| Who buys it | Owner occupiers | Investors letting the property to tenants |
| Typical trigger | Fire, storm, a burst pipe or a burglary at your own home | Tenant damage, rent default or a liability claim by a tenant |
| Sits with | Motor cover and specified valuables | Strata cover where the property is a unit |
The two do not overlap. Once you move out and rent the place, a home policy stops matching the risk and landlord insurance takes over. Tell your broker on the day the tenancy starts, not at the next renewal.
Home and Contents Insurance - Client Case Studies
Cases from the Fortis Risk Solutions broking team. Client names have been removed.
Client case: Roof and Contents Damaged
The client situation: A severe storm damaged part of the home’s roof, allowing rainwater to enter and damage ceilings, carpet flooring, furniture and other belongings.
How the policy responded: The Home (building) section helped cover eligible storm damage and repair costs to the building, while the Contents section helped cover the replacement of the carpet and belongings damaged by the event.
How Fortis Risk Solutions helps: We arrange building and contents together, so storm damage that crosses both is one claim with one insurer.
Client case: House Fire, Temporary Accommodation and Neighbouring Property Damage
The client situation: A fire accidentally started in the kitchen of a family home and spread through part of the property, causing significant damage to the kitchen, walls, flooring and other areas of the house. The damage left the home temporarily uninhabitable while repairs were carried out.
The fire also spread to the boundary of the property and damaged part of the neighbouring property’s fencing.How the policy responded: The Home Insurance policy helped cover the eligible cost of repairing the fire damage to the insured home.
As the property could not be safely occupied during repairs, the policy’s Temporary Accommodation cover helped with eligible accommodation costs while the family was unable to live in the home.
The neighbour also sought compensation for the damaged fencing. Where the homeowner was found legally liable for that damage, the policy’s Legal Liability section helped respond to the third-party property damage claim, subject to the policy terms and liability limit.How Fortis Risk Solutions helps: We check the temporary accommodation limit against what renting a similar home nearby would cost for the length of a rebuild.
Client case: Home Damaged and Valuables Stolen During a Break-in
The client situation: While the homeowners were away for the weekend, thieves forced their way into the home, damaging the front door and locks. The thieves stole electronics and other personal belongings, including valuable jewellery and watches.
How the policy responded: The building section helped cover eligible damage to the building caused during the break-in, including damage to the door and locks, while the Contents Insurance section helped cover the insured belongings that were stolen and damage to the safe.
As the homeowners had specifically listed their higher-value jewellery and watches as specified items under the policy, these items were insured up to their nominated values.How Fortis Risk Solutions helps: Standard contents cover caps jewellery and watches at a low figure. We ask about valuables up front and list them as specified items.
Client case: Visitor Injured at a Pool Party
The client situation: The homeowners hosted a pool party for their child and friends. While getting out of the swimming pool, one of the visiting children slipped on the surrounding pool area and suffered an injury. The child’s parents subsequently made a claim against the homeowners, alleging that they were legally responsible for the injury.
How the policy responded: The Legal Liability section of the Home and Contents policy helped respond to the claim. Where the homeowners were found legally liable for the visitor’s injury, the policy helped cover eligible compensation and associated legal defence costs, subject to the policy’s liability limit, terms and conditions.
Legal liability under Home and Contents Insurance can provide protection where a visitor is accidentally injured at the insured property and the insured homeowner is legally liable for that injury.How Fortis Risk Solutions helps: Legal liability is the part of a home policy people forget they have. We point it out, and we take the claim to the insurer if a visitor is hurt.
Every policy is different and the outcome of a claim depends on its terms. As your broker, Fortis Risk Solutions compares insurers and policy wording before you buy, and lodges and manages the claim for you when something happens. Talk to us about your own cover.
Contents Insurance for Renters
If you rent, the building belongs to the landlord and so does the building insurance. Your own belongings are a different matter. Contents insurance for renters covers your furniture, clothes, electronics and other possessions against events such as fire, storm, theft and accidental damage, depending on the policy wording. Most contents policies also include legal liability if a visitor is injured in your home or you damage the landlord’s property.
Check the limits for jewellery, watches, cameras and laptops, and list high value items separately so they are insured for what they are worth. A landlord’s policy does not cover a tenant’s possessions, and the bond does not either. Fortis Risk Solutions arranges contents cover for renters across Melbourne and explains what the wording includes before you buy.
Home and Contents Insurance FAQs
No. It is not required by law, though most mortgage lenders make building cover a condition of the loan.
Yes, under an optional portable valuables extension, subject to specified limits and conditions.
Policies vary in definitions, sub-limits, exclusions and claims handling. As your broker, FRS helps you:
- Set accurate building and contents valuations
- Avoid underinsurance and unexpected exclusions
- Compare wordings, not only price
- Handle claims and insurer negotiations
Rented-out properties need landlord insurance instead. Apartment owners should read the building's strata insurance.
Home and contents insurance comes down to two numbers and a few definitions. The building sum insured should match today's rebuild cost, and contents should be valued at replacement, not what you paid years ago. Then read how flood and storm are defined, and whether accidental damage is included or optional. Portable valuables taken outside the home usually need to be listed. We compare these points across insurers for homes in Melbourne and regional Victoria.
Related reading
Related pages
Related industry pages: Farm Insurance
Talk to a broker about Home and Contents 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 home and contents insurance. Tell us what the business does and what the lease or contract asks for, and we take it from there.