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What is home and contents insurance?

Home and contents insurance can help pay for damages and incidents that affect your home or belongings, such as fire, theft or storm damage. You can make a claim with your home and contents insurance provider, who will pay for repairs, replacements, and even completely rebuild the home.

There are conditions and the event has to be specifically covered by your policy, but home and contents insurance can bring peace of mind and help financially secure your home.

Why compare home and contents insurance?

There are several reasons why you should compare home and contents insurance:

  • You could be missing out on savings with a cheaper policy.
  • Another provider might have higher limits on insurance claims that could provide better coverage.
  • A different policy might have a better range of optional extras that suit your situation better.

We make it easy to take charge of your finances. Why not see what’s out there and compare today with Compare the Market?

Compare home and contents insurance

Want to safeguard your home and contents? We’ve got your back.

Compare in minutes

In just a few minutes, you can get a range of quotes from some of Australia’s best home and contents insurance brands.

Explore your options

Our comparison service helps you refine your quote and weigh up coverage, prices, optional extras and more with ease.

We cover your insurance needs

You don’t have to visit multiple websites to compare different home and contents insurance policies. You can compare and purchase straight from us!

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Don’t worry; it won’t cost you a cent to compare with us and we don’t mark-up prices! Learn more.

Learn more about home and contents insurance

Building insurance

Building insurance refers to a variety of ways to insure the structure of your property. It can protect you against wild weather, damage and break-ins.

Renters insurance

Renters insurance is another name for contents insurance. It covers your belongings while you are a tenant.

Flood cover

Home and Contents insurance with flood cover provides financial protection against property damage or loss caused by flooding. It’s a crucial policy inclusion if you live in a flood-prone area.

Personal effects

Personal effects cover protects your belongings (e.g. phones and jewellery) against loss, theft or damage when you are away from your home

Landlord insurance

This type of policy gives investors financial protection from damage and costly repairs to the building and some contents, plus additional coverage for things such as lost rent.

Fire damage

Australians are no strangers to the threat of property fires. Cover for fire is designed to take care of these kinds of claims.

Storm damage

Your policy will outline which weather-related events that might affect your property are covered, such as storm damage, hail, water runoff and land gales. These comprise ‘storm damage’.

Accidental damage insurance

Accident damage’ cover gives you financial protection for unforeseen accidents in and outside of your home that causes damage to your property or possessions.

Motor burnout

Motor burnout cover is a policy feature that insures the unexpected breakdown of the motor in appliances like fridges, washing machines or dishwashers due to a power surge or excessive energy current.

Factors that affect home & contents premiums

Your insurer will consider factors such as the estimated value of your home and contents, construction materials and home security when working out your monthly premium.

Accidental damage vs. defined events

A ‘defined events’ policy lists the risks your property is insured for and excludes everything else, while ‘accidental damage’ is an additional policy benefit.

Exclusions & restrictions to look out for

Even when you take out a comprehensive home and contents policy, certain events might still not be covered. These are called policy exclusions.

Frequently asked questions about home and contents insurance

How much does home and contents insurance cost?

The cost of home insurance and contents insurance can vary widely, based on several key factors, including:

  • The value of your home and contents (how much would it cost to replace these items)
  • Your address
  • The materials used to build your home
  • Which types of home insurance optional extras you choose to include (such as flood cover)
  • The security features in your home
  • When your home was built
  • Your age and the age of other residents in the home
  • The risk of natural disasters in your area.

Read all about the factors that affect the cost of home and contents insurance to learn more.

What does home and contents insurance cover?

Home and contents insurance pays out a sum of money if your building or possessions are damaged, destroyed or compromised by an ‘insured event’. These events can include storms, fires, floods, burglaries and vandalism, but might exclude damage from vermin or movements of the sea.

We’ve put together a quick glance guide to show you what is typically covered by home insurance (also known as building insurance), contents insurance or combined home and contents policies.

What is & isn’t covered?Home insuranceContents insuranceHome & contents insurance
Storm damage
Fire damage
Flood damageOptional extraOptional extraOptional extra
Earthquake
Movement of the sea
Vandalism
Theft
Impact damage (excluding deliberate damage)
Portable contentsOptional extraOptional extra
Motor burnoutOptional extraOptional extraOptional extra
Damage from vermin (including rodents and insects)
War and uprising
Accidental damage Optional extraOptional extraOptional extra
Loss of liquid (excluding the leaking item, e.g. burst pipe)
Removing debris
Damage from renovations
Temporary accommodation
N.B. Some events, such as flood damage, may be covered as an optional extra or a separate policy you can purchase alongside building and contents insurance. Limits and additional exclusions may apply.

When using Compare the Market’s free home and contents insurance comparison service, you’ll see what’s listed under each specific policy when comparing results. You should always read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) of any insurance policy you’re considering before you buy, so you know exactly what you are and aren’t covered for.

Do I need home and contents insurance?

If you’re looking to protect your belongings and home from a range of potential dangers, home and contents insurance can provide the cover you’re after. This type of insurance can help you get back on your feet, and you can have both types of cover in a combined policy.

Comparing home and contents insurance with Compare the Market’s free home and contents insurance comparison tool can help you find a range of policies that have the coverage you’re looking for.

Why is home insurance important?

Buying a house may be one of the biggest investments you make in your life, so it makes sense to protect it accordingly. Storms, bushfires and accidents are all too common across the country, and such a calamity might mean thousands of dollars in repair, replacement or rebuilding costs.

Home insurance cover can help protect your wallet against the cost of repairing or replacing your home following an insured event, like malicious damage, falling trees and natural disasters. Home insurance can cover the replacement cost of the home and outbuildings, as well as the cost of clearing debris. Depending on the type of cover you have, you can also be insured for flood damage and burned-out electrical appliances.

Why is contents insurance important?

It could cost you hundreds if not thousands of dollars to replace your belongings without contents insurance. Contents insurance covers all sorts of possessions such as clothing, jewellery, furniture, laptops and desktops, books and DVDs, tools in the garage plus appliances we just can’t live without like fridges, washing machines and TVs.

For antiques and personal belongings that may be irreplaceable, contents insurance can help provide financial compensation that, while it may not be able to replace that item or its sentimental value, can soften the blow of losing such previous items.

What is the best home and contents insurance policy?

As everyone’s needs are different, there is no single home and contents insurance policy that’s the ‘best’. That’s why shopping around and comparing policies by price, features, excess payments and optional extras is important – it can help you find one that adequately covers your needs.

You can start your home and contents insurance journey by comparing policies for free with Compare the Market, to help you find the cover you need.

Here are some key points to consider when looking for home and contents cover:

  • Are you in a flood-prone area? It’s essential to see if flood cover is included in the PDS of a policy before you make a purchase.
  • Do you live in an apartment? If you’ve bought an apartment, strata insurance covers the building, but not your belongings. You can take out contents insurance if you want to cover your personal possessions.
  • Own valuable belongings? Some items like jewellery, heirlooms and expensive gadgets may be worth more than what you’ll receive for a general claim if they’re damaged or stolen. If you specify the value of each item in your policy, these expensive items will be covered for what they’re worth (at additional cost to premiums).
  • Do you need insurance if you’re renting? While building insurance isn’t your responsibility as a tenant, getting contents insurance (also known as renters insurance) is a step you can take to help protect your belongings.
  • As a landlord, how do I protect my investment? As a landlord, you can get landlords insurance to help cover damage to your rental properties, defaults (i.e. your renters can’t pay their rent), liability costs and more.
  • Could you be underinsured? It’s important you provide your insurer with accurate values for your home and belongings. Otherwise, you risk undervaluing your belongings and your home, which means you won’t receive enough money to repair or replace them.

Which home insurance company is the best?

The best home insurance company will be very subjective, and different people will have their own answer to this question. To figure out who is best for you, you might want to consider the company’s track record when paying out claims as well as customer ratings and testimonials.

We work with a range of Australian home insurance providers to bring you a range of policies to compare.

We do not compare all home and contents insurance providers in the market. At certain times, some insurance policies might be unavailable. Learn more.

Home insurance providers in Australia

You can also take a look through the following list of home insurance providers in Australia.

  • 1300 Insurance
  • 1st for Women Insurance
  • AAMI
  • Allianz
  • ANZ
  • Apia
  • Aussie
  • Australia Post
  • Australian Seniors
  • Australian Unity
  • Bank of Melbourne
  • BankSA
  • Budget Direct
  • Bupa
  • CCI Personal Insurance
  • CGU
  • CHU
  • Coles Insurance
  • Commonwealth Bank
  • COTA Insurance
  • Elders Insurance
  • Guild Insurance
  • Hollard
  • Huddle
  • IAL
  • ING
  • Insure That
  • Mansions of Australia
  • NRMA
  • Over Fifty Insurance
  • Ozicare Insurance
  • QBE
  • RAA
  • RAC
  • RACQ
  • RACT
  • RACV
  • Real Insurance
  • Resilium
  • SGIC
  • SGIO
  • Shannons
  • SHC Insurance
  • Sure Insurance
  • George
  • Suncorp
  • TIO
  • Vero
  • Virgin Money
  • Westpac
  • WFI
  • Woolworths Insurance
  • Youi

List accurate as of 3 May 2022 and is subject to change.

Who is the best contents insurance provider?

Again, the answer to this question will be different for different people. You might want to weigh up not just the prices and coverage of their policies, but other things about the company like customer satisfaction or whether the company supports any charities.

We compare contents insurance from the following Australian providers:

We do not compare all home and contents insurance providers in the market. At certain times, some insurance policies might be unavailable. Learn more.

Contents insurance providers in Australia

You can view an extensive list of contents insurance providers in Australia below.

  • 1300 Insurance
  • 1stfor Women Insurance
  • AAMI
  • Allianz
  • ANZ
  • APIA
  • Aussie
  • Australia Post
  • Australian Seniors
  • Australian Unity
  • Bank of Melbourne
  • BankSA
  • Budget Direct
  • Bupa
  • CCI Personal Insurance
  • CGU
  • CHU
  • Coles Insurance
  • Commonwealth Bank
  • COTA Insurance
  • Elders Insurance
  • Essentials by AAI
  • GIO
  • Guild Insurance
  • Hollard
  • IAL
  • ING
  • Insurance 4 That
  • Insure That
  • Mansions of Australia
  • NRMA
  • Over Fifty Insurance
  • Ozicare
  • QBE
  • RAA
  • RAC
  • RACQ
  • RACT
  • RACV
  • Real Insurance
  • Resilium
  • SGIC
  • SGIO
  • Shannons
  • George
  • Suncorp
  • TIO
  • Tokio Marine Nichido
  • Vero
  • Virgin Money
  • Westpac
  • Woolworths Insurance
  • Youi

List accurate as of 3 May 2022 and is subject to change.

Stephen Zeller, General Manager

Meet our home and contents expert, Stephen Zeller

As expert in home and contents insurance at Compare the Market, Stephen Zeller works to make the protection of a homeowner’s most significant financial assets, an easier and more efficient process. Stephen empowers people with choice and believes it’s important to have adequate cover in the event of the unexpected – fire, flood, storm or vandalism.

Stephen has more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry. He is an Allied member of the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance (ANZIIF) and ensures any information about insurance products that we publish is accurate and comprehensive.

Stephen’s home and contents insurance tips:

  1. When comparing policies to your current insurance, make sure that you are comparing the same sum insured, same excesses and same optional cover. That way, you can be sure your results are accurate to your situation.
  2. Look at the coverage the policy automatically includes against what you may to have to add as an optional extra. For example, some policies include flood cover as standard, but most only offer it as an add-on (and it won’t always be available depending on your home address).
  3. When completing a quote, play around with the excess amount to see if it lowers the cost of the insurance premium. Keep in mind that choosing a higher excess for a lower premium means you will have to pay more in the event of a claim.
  4. You may be able to get a discount by purchasing home and contents with your car insurer as an existing customer (if they offer it multi-policy discounts, also known as insurance bundling). However, while convenient, this may not actually leave you better off, which is why it always pays to compare. It may actually save you money to have home or contents insurance with one provider, while holding another insurance policy with another brand altogether.
  5. Don’t wait for your renewal notice to arrive to see if you can save money on home and contents insurance. If you have an existing policy, you can cancel anytime. Just keep in mind there may be a cancellation fee, but the savings you could get from switching may well outweigh the cost to cancel. Also, you’ll receive a pro-rata refund for the remaining period of your insurance if you’d paid for the year in full.
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