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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:
- Call FRS as soon as the damage is found, even if the repair cost is not yet clear
- Make the property safe and photograph the damage before anything is moved
- Report theft, break ins and malicious damage to police, then keep the report number
- Hold on to damaged items, receipts, valuations and any quotes you already have
- FRS lodges the claim, briefs the assessor and follows the repairer or the cash settlement through to completion
- 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 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.