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You may be able to reduce the cost of your home insurance through changes to your cover, excess, payment options and policy features. Some ways to help lower your premium include:

• Review your sum insured regularly: Make sure your sum insured accurately reflects the cost of rebuilding your home and replacing your belongings. Overestimating your sum insured could mean paying more for cover than necessary, while underestimating it could leave you underinsured.
• Consider a higher excess: Choosing a higher excess will generally reduce your premium. Many insurers offer excess options ranging from around $300 to $5,000. However, you’ll need to be comfortable paying the higher excess amount if you need to make a claim.
• Bundle your policies: Some insurers offer discounts when you combine home building and contents insurance under the same policy. Check whether a combined policy could help reduce your overall insurance costs.
• Pay annually: Paying your premium annually is usually cheaper than paying monthly or fortnightly, as it can help you avoid the processing or administration fees that often apply to instalment payments.
• Compare your options at renewal: Don’t automatically accept your renewal notice. Comparing a range of policies regularly can help you find a more competitive premium. Some insurers also offer online discounts, so it’s worth checking what’s available.
• Review optional extras: If your circumstances have changed, consider whether you still need every optional extra on your policy. For example, you may no longer need portable contents cover for jewellery you’ve sold or cover for an above-ground pool you’ve removed.

To help lower your home insurance premiums, choose only the cover you need and check how different policy features affect the price you pay. The cheapest policy may not always the best option, and there are several ways you may be able to help reduce the cost of your cover and maximise your savings:

• Only purchase the cover you need. Don’t add any optional extras that aren’t required, as they typically increase your overall premium.
• Increasing your basic excess could help lower your premium, and vice versa. Before adjusting your excess, consider whether it’s an amount you could afford to pay if you need to make a claim.
• Paying your premiums annually usually costs less in the long run than paying monthly, as instalment payments often incur additional fees.
• The area you live in can affect how much you pay for home insurance. Properties in areas with a higher risk of theft or severe weather events typically attract higher premiums.
• Installing features such as burglar alarms or security systems may help reduce the risk of theft and could qualify you for discounts with some insurers.
• New customers can sometimes access discounts that aren’t available to existing customers, so it’s worth shopping around rather than automatically renewing.

Combined home and contents insurance generally doesn’t cover damage caused by normal wear and tear, pre-existing issues, pests and vermin, or loss resulting from intentional or illegal acts.

While exclusions vary between insurers and policies, some common examples include:

• business activities, including operating a business from home or using the property as a holiday rental
• damage that occurs when a property is left unoccupied for an extended period
• high-value items, such as jewellery that hasn’t been specified separately
• commercial properties, such as hotels and motels
• damage caused by actions of the sea.

Bundling home building and contents insurance can potentially reduce your overall premium. Depending on the insurer, a combined policy could also mean you only need to pay one excess if both your home and contents are damaged by the same insured event. However, savings vary between insurers and policies, so it’s important to compare your options before making a decision.

When considering a combined policy, keep in mind to:

• Compare the cover, not just the price: a multi-policy discount may save you money, but it’s important to make sure the policy still provides the level of cover you need.
• Review your policy at renewal: If the premium of one policy increases over time, it may be worth comparing other options rather than relying on a multi-policy discount.

Your sum insured should be enough to fully replace your contents and fully rebuild your house and any sheds, garages and other structures on your property. This should factor in the cost of building materials, labour, and any renovations or improvements you’ve made. Also consider the costs of:

• demolition, debris removal and site preparation
• architect, and surveyor fees
• construction, legal costs and council fees.

Keep in mind that rebuilding costs aren’t the same as your home’s market value. To estimate your rebuild cost, you can use an online home insurance calculator or obtain a professional rebuild valuation from a qualified building surveyor. If you compare quotes through Compare the Market, our calculator can help guide your sum insured amount.

Alongside the standard cover included in a home and contents insurance policy, many insurers offer optional extras, such as flood cover, accidental damage cover and motor burnout. Here’s how they work:

• Flood cover could help you with the cost of repairs or rebuilding if your home is damaged by floodwaters or needs to be fully replaced.
• Accidental damage cover could provide cover against accidental damage to your home, which can happen as part of everyday life, including damage to walls and fixtures.
• Motor burnout cover can help pay for repairs and replacement costs for fixtures like washing machines and aircon units if their electric motors break due events like power surges or electric currents.
• Portable contents cover provide insurance for items you take outside the home, such as phones, laptops, jewellery and handbags, if they’re lost, stolen or damaged.

Note that adding optional cover will typically increase your home insurance premiums.

Contents insurance covers your household items, such as clothing, jewellery, furniture, bicycles, tools in the garage and free-standing (portable) appliances like fridges, washing machines and TVs, against loss, theft, or damage while at the insured address. Depending on the type of policy you have, you could also be insured for flood damage and motor burnout for electrical appliances.

Highly valued items, such as jewellery, fine art and collectibles, that are worth more than your policy’s sub-limit are often excluded from standard contents cover, but they can usually be added under specified contents cover for an additional premium.

If you want to be covered for damage from certain weather events, like floods or earthquakes, you’ll usually need to purchase additional insurance.

Start by listing all your belongings and the cost to replace each item at today’s prices. Include as many details as possible, such as receipts, warranties and the date of purchase.

Consider taking photos or recording a walk-through of each room to create an inventory of your belongings. Having a visual record can help when lodging a claim by providing evidence of the items you owned.

It’s important to get this valuation as accurate as possible to avoid underinsurance. If you undervalue your belongings and need to make a claim, your payout may not be enough to replace everything you’ve lost.

If you compare quotes through Compare the Market, our calculator can help guide your sum insured amount.

Insurers generally guarantee the quality of authorised home repairs for as long as you own the property, provided the insurer arranged and managed the repairs following an accepted claim.

You can’t get a home building insurance policy until the construction is complete. While the building is under construction, the builders’ insurance will pay for damages and incidents that occur. Be sure to inquire with the builder about their legal liability and insurance policy before you hire them.

When looking for a home insurance policy, consider how much cover you need, what risks are relevant to your property and whether the policy fits your budget. It’s important to make sure your sum insured reflects the cost of rebuilding your home and replacing your belongings, while also checking for exclusions, claim limits and any optional extras that may be relevant to your situation.

Here are some key questions to ask yourself when looking for home cover:

• Are you in a flood-prone area? It’s essential to know whether flood cover is included in the PDS of a policy before you make a purchase.
• Do you live in an apartment? If you live in an apartment, strata insurance will cover only the building, not your belongings. You can take out contents insurance to help cover your personal possessions.
• Do you own valuable belongings? Some items, like jewellery, heirlooms and expensive equipment, 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 can be covered for what they’re worth (for an additional premium).
• Do you need insurance if you’re renting? While home 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 you protect your investment? As a landlord, you can get landlord insurance to cover malicious damage by tenants to your rental properties, defaults, legal liability and more.
• Could you be underinsured? Provide your insurer with accurate values for your home and belongings. Otherwise, you risk undervaluing your belongings and your home, so you may not receive enough money to repair or replace them.

There’s no single ‘best’ home insurance policy or provider for every Aussie. The ‘best’ home insurance policy is the one that provides the level of cover you need at a price that suits your budget.

When comparing policies, here are some things to consider:

• Your insured address. Where you live can make a big difference to the type of cover you need. For example, if you live in a flood-prone area, a policy with flood cover could provide peace of mind.
• Policy coverage. Whichever home policy you purchase, the sum insured should be enough to cover a complete rebuild of your home building and other outbuildings, plus the replacement cost of your possessions.
• Standard inclusions. What’s included in home insurance can vary depending on the insurance company. For example, some could include flood cover as standard, while others might offer it as an optional extra.
• Optional extras. You might consider add-ons like accidental damage cover and portable contents cover for items like laptops, mobile phones and handbags. Keep in mind that these add-ons typically come at an extra cost.

Reading the Target Market Determination could give you a better understanding of whether a policy is right for your circumstances.

Yes, you can get insurance for an apartment, but instead of building insurance, you’ll most likely only need contents insurance.

Building insurance for an apartment is usually covered by the body corporate or strata insurance policy. Contents insurance can help protect your belongings and any fixtures or fittings inside your apartment that aren’t covered by the strata policy.