Home and contents insurance FAQs

Frequently asked questions on home and contents insurance

Home and contents insurance is designed to help protect your most valuable assets. Here we answer the frequently asked questions about home and contents insurance including what it covers, how your premium is calculated and whether you're insured while travelling.

What is home and contents insurance?

This is insurance that covers both the building you live in and what's inside it.

It's possible just to get one or the other forms of insurance – for example, just contents insurance if you rent, or just building cover. 

What does home and contents insurance help cover?

There are different types of home and contents insurance policies. But, as a general rule, home insurance covers the cost of repairing or rebuilding your home should a 'defined' event occur.

A defined event can include natural disasters such as fire, flood, earthquakes, storms, and human-related damage such as accidental breakages, theft and vandalism.

Contents insurance works much the same way, although it helps cover the cost of replacing what's inside your home if it is damaged or stolen. If your claim is approved, an insured item may be repaired or replaced, or the cost of the repair or replacement paid to you.

Examples of things covered under ANZ Home insurance are:

• furniture and furnishings
  
• hearing aids and prescription glasses
• computer software
• carpets, curtains and internal blinds
• sporting equipment

For limits and exclusions please read the ANZ Home Insurance Product Disclosure Statement – issued by CGU Insurance.

What's not covered by home and contents insurance?

Some events, such as someone stealing a mobile phone left outside in the front yard, or damage caused by a retaining wall collapsing, may not be covered.

Make sure to read your policy carefully so you're aware of what's excluded.

Some common exclusions include:

• loss or damage caused by vermin, insects or by birds pecking, scratching or biting
• sporting equipment while it's in use
• fixtures, fittings and other contents in a strata property that are insured by the body corporate.

Are carpets covered?

Check your policy. ANZ Home and Contents insurance covers carpets, rugs, internal blinds and items that can be moved to another location, such as a fridge or television. If your home is under a strata scheme, ANZ Contents insurance can include permanent fixtures and fittings that are not covered by a body corporate such as shower screens, paint, wallpaper and solar panels.

Are my portable items covered?

Check with your insurer on your individual policy. Under ANZ Home Insurance, your portable items (e.g. bikes, laptops and mobile phones) can be covered up to certain limits, and in certain locations. However, you can choose to increase the amount your portable contents are insured for, and the locations where these items are insured. This extra-cost option allows you to help cover your portable contents if they are accidentally lost, stolen or damaged anywhere in the world.

Are my contents covered if they're in storage?

You may be able to get cover for loss or damage to your contents in storage, but you may need to let your insurer know first, so they can update your policy with those details.

For example, with ANZ Home and Contents insurance, some types of valuables (e.g. jewellery, works of art and computers) are not covered while in storage. However, some household items may be covered if you tell us:

• that your general contents are in storage before they are put into storage
• the value of the items
• the date the items will be placed in, and removed from, storage, and
• the address where the items are stored.

The insurer must agree to insure the items in storage and show a ‘Contents in storage’ Sum Insured on your Certificate of Insurance for you to be covered.

Am I insured when I am moving house or away from home on a long trip?

Again, check with your insurer, but ANZ Home Insurance customers are covered for contents in transit to your new permanent home or commercial storage facility. This is to protect your contents from theft following violent or forcible entry, as well as damage from fire, collision or overturning of the vehicle transporting them. ANZ Home Insurance customers are also covered up to $10,000 for any accidental damage that occurs to your contents while they are in transit to your new home.

Update your address details beforehand so your existing policy covers your new address.

ANZ Home insurance can help cover your home if you are on a holiday up to 60 consecutive days. However, if your property is left unoccupied for more than 60 consecutive days, and no one is maintaining the home, or you haven’t organised for someone to check inside and outside the home at least once a week (The property may have an additional imposed excess for the duration of the unoccupancy, restriction on certain coverages (i.e. no cover for accidental damage, cover for building only) with a note placed on the policy, or possibly an additional premium charged. This is determined on a case-by-case basis.

Am I insured during construction, renovations, alterations or repairs?

This can vary from policy to policy. If you have an ANZ Home insurance policy, you will need to first disclose the details of any construction, renovation, alterations or repairs to your buildings. For existing policies, you won’t be covered in connection with any alteration, repair, renovation or addition to the home which is in progress that costs $75,000 or more. If the home is undergoing renovation, on a case-by-case basis, cover may be declined or cancelled, or additional terms may be imposed on the policy.

How much is home and contents insurance?

Premiums are calculated by a number of factors including the type, location, occupancy, construction and age of your buildings or contents and the total value of your buildings or contents that are insured.

Other factors may include the:

• cost to rebuild your buildings
• type and frequency of claims you have made
• excess you have chosen

Why have I got such different quotes to insure the same home and contents?

Insurers offer policies that range from the no-frills to the very comprehensive. One home and contents policy might help cover expenses arising from what's known as 'accidental damage' (e.g. your children breaking a window playing backyard cricket) while another won't.

As with any insurance policy, you should compare features and prices of different policies then make a decision about which provides the best-value cover for you.

You can see exactly what’s covered in the ANZ Home Insurance Product Disclosure Statement – issued by CGU Insurance.

Some common options to lower your premium include:

• selecting a higher excess
• removing optional benefits, such as valuable or portables cover

What is the maximum sum insured for valuable contents?

This varies from policy to policy, but under ANZ Home insurance, you can be covered for up to $10,000 for any individual item of valuable contents if you have chosen the optional valuables cover for the relevant group of valuable contents, unless you have specified it separately on your Certificate of Insurance for a value greater than this.

Valuable Contents may include: 

•  Jewellery and Watches – being watches, jewellery items and medals.
  
• Works of Art – being paintings, sculptures, photographic prints and figurines.
• Collections – being cards, stamps, uncirculated mint issue or proof coins or notes, ancient or rare coins or notes, sovereigns and bullion

If you have valuable contents that are worth more than $10,000, you can apply to have them listed on your policy for a Specified Sum Insured. The maximum amount of cover available for a specified valuable varies between insurers. 

What’s the maximum I can claim for non-specified valuables?

This varies from policy to policy. With ANZ Home insurance the maximum amount that can be paid for any claim for non-specified:

• jewellery and watches is $2,500 in total
• works of art is $2,500 in total
• collections is $2,500 in total
• money is $1,250 in total
• tools of trade is $5,000 in total
• unattached accessories is $3,000 in total
• computer software is the cost to replace the software only
• films, slides and prints is:
  • the cost of these items as unprocessed material only; or
  • if you purchased these items already processed, we will help fund their replacement value, and we will not pay the costs of recreating any event. 

How do I make a home and contents claim?

Contact your insurer to make a claim. For ANZ Home insurance customers, you can call or complete the online claim form.

To avoid delays, make sure you've got all the necessary supporting information before submitting your claim.