Best Home and Contents Insurance
While we can’t bring back our belongings if they get stolen or damaged, it is possible to help compensate for the financial loss of them through home and contents insurance. What are the different policies available and which is right for you? Continue reading…
Seniors Home & Contents Insurance 🏆 2024
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Kogan Home & Contents Insurance
Honey Insurance 🏆 2024
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Youi Home and Contents
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Budget Direct Home & Contents Insurance
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ahm Home and Contents Insurance
QBE Home and Contents Insurance
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Huddle Home and Contents Insurance
Reasonable progress time
Good communication
I have been with Huddle Insurance for 2 years Show details · 1
Allianz Home Insurance
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Real Home & Contents Insurance
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When I called the first time to advise of her passing and ask... Read more for the policy to be cancelled I was told they could not do this until I sent some documentation through. I sent the documentation straight after the call. Six days later nothing has happened and they have taken a further monthly premium from her bank account. This is not ok. At the very least on that first call they should have ceased their direct debit. They have now taken money from a deceased person's account. I am sure that after being notified someone has passed away and asked to cancel her insurance it would not be legal to deduct money that she doesnt owe from a deceased person's account. Every other company I have called processed cancellations straight away and treated me with kindness and compassion. The way this company deals with grieving family members, the lack of action and the continued direct debit after death is disgusting. Its hard enough to deal with the death of my Mum and make all the calls and contacts let alone having to make multiple calls, send emails and be told that they are very busy and nothing I can do but wait for them to process my request when they get to their emails. I would not recommend this company to anyone if this is how they conduct their business I can only imagine the trouble their customers would have if they need to make a claim.
RAC WA Home & Contents Insurance
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APIA Home Insurance
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RAA Home and Contents
After being assured my damages would ... Read more
be covered, I was left in the dark for over a week, only to discover my car had been deemed a total loss without any notification. Despite numerous attempts to contact RAA, I received no apology or explanation for the oversight. During my call with the Total Loss representative, I was met with indifference and blame-shifting, instead of acknowledgment for their shortcomings. This dismissive attitude is unacceptable. Furthermore, my concerns about the undervaluation of my recently purchased car were brushed aside, further adding to my frustration. This experience highlights systemic issues within RAA's communication and customer service practices that need urgent attention. I urge RAA to take responsibility for their actions, apologize for the distress caused, and commit to improving their services. #RAA #CustomerService #CommunicationIssues #TotalLoss #DisappointedNRMA Home Insurance
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GIO Home and Contents
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TIO
CGU Home and Contents Insurance
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Hi Steve, thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. We regret to learn that your experience with your claim did not meet your expectations. Without knowing all the specifics of your claim, it's cha... Read more
llenging for us to provide a detailed response. However, we encourage you to send us a private message with further information so that we can better understand your situation and determine how we can assist you. Please copy and paste your review, or simply let the team know that you are contacting us from Product Review. You can send the message via this link: https://www.facebook.com/cguinsurance/. Thank you. ~ ChecoRACQ Home Insurance
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Last week I received ... Read moremy insurance renewal for home and contents insurance. I’m with a large insurer. I was expecting an increase over last year so I wasn’t surprised when I saw it had gone up by 10% to $2,875. As recommended, I decided to get a couple of comparison quotes. First online quote was from another large insurer who specialises in over 50s. Their quoted premium was 12% higher for the same cover and excess. That seemed OK. The second quote was from RACQ. I’ve been a RACQ member for 49 years so I thought I’d get a reasonable price. I was shocked when the quoted premium was 525% higher at $15,088 for the same insured values and excesses. At the time I asked the online chat person to double check that the quoted premium was correct. She advised that if I had answered the questions correctly then the quoted premium was correct. To make sure it wasn’t a mistake I waited a few days and went back online to get a fresh quote. The premium came back with the exact same premium of $15,088. Can you believe it ! Obviously, I won’t be switching to RACQ nor would I advise you to. As an aside; the government is busy saying they want to help us with the cost-of-living pressures we are all experiencing at present. Built into my premium is $477 of government charges – stamp duty and GST. That’s 17% of the premium for which I get nothing in return. Why do these type of charges incur government imposts ? Beats me. I guess they do because they can !
AAMI Home & Contents Insurance
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Mk3
We're truly appreciative of all your hard work. Show details · 1
Coles Home Building and Contents
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Had a water leak from a fish tank which ruined the floor boards. An assessor was sent out and rejected the claim on the basis of the floor boards ‘not being installed correctly’.... Read more
Blamed the damage on the installation by the builder. I rang Coles and complained so they sent assessor number 2. He agreed with my claim. Coles then send out assessor number 3. This guy works for Coles parent company . Has all the credentials. Starts out by asking me who I want to do the repairs and I advised I didn’t have a preference. About 20min later he then backflips and says he tends to agree with assessor number 1. And denies the claim. I ring Coles again to complain and they send out assessor number 4. He was some big burly guy full of tattoos with the credentials of a ‘building engineer’. He comes with a water meter and a thermal gun trying to impress me with his gizmos. He does not know that I am a real engineer so I wasn’t fooled by his nonsense. He claimed the house wasn’t built correctly and lacked enough sub floor ventilation and water has come in from outside and caused the piers to become dislodged which was the cause of the squeeking floor boards. The fish tank water would not have caused the damage. He wrote a 20 page report stating if the fish tank was the issue there would be water staining on the bearers and on the chip board under the floor boards. However we did not have access to the sub floor so there was no proof. Claim denied again. I rang Coles again and asked if I got my own building report done would they review it and they said yes. My guys report agreed with me however before he came I cut a hole in the floor and got pictures of the under floor. The pictures showed water staining of the bearers and effervescence on the ground from the Fishtank water. Proving I was right. However my guy wrote at the top of his report ’Without Prejudice’. This is a legal term which means he cannot be held responsible in a court of law. Why he did this I don’t know to this day. However Coles said to me his report was useless as it held no weight. They said if he removed those two words, then they would review the report and possibly pay the claim. I got them to speak with him directly and he refused to remove those two words. By this time I was fed up and went straight to the ombudsman. Long story short the ombudsman reviewed all the reports and the photos and agreed with me. The claim went from a $10,000 payout to a $76,000 payout. Had they paid out as per the second assessors quote it would’ve cost them $10,000. The ombudsman requested the second assessor come back and reassess, and his quote increased as he believed the whole floor had to be removed in the entire house (not just in the lounge where the fish tank was). This now meant removing the kitchen and storing it off site. This then meant we had to leave the house for six weeks and Coles had to pay for this as well which meant the claim increased to $76,000. The whole process took a year with the ombudsman, taking about six months to conduct their investigations not a fast process by any means, but well worth it in the end. They also had to pay for my original report. Don’t let Coles bully you with their assessors if you believe you are correct, go straight to the ombudsman and they will deal with the issue fairly. Most people would’ve walked away after the first assessor denied the claim as they couldn’t be bothered dealing with the process. However, I’m glad I went through to the end as I had the last laugh. I got the floor fixed for $10,000, went on a an overseas trip while the work was being done and pocketed the remaining money and reduced my mortgage. Thanks Coles.Hi Steven, thanks for taking the time to write your review. We're sorry to hear about your experience, as we aim to provide excellent service for our valued customers. We suggest contacting our team o... Read more
n 1300 265 374 or send them an email to insurance.enquiries@coles.com.au as they'd be more than happy to assist you further regarding your feedback.RACV Home & Contents
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We lodged a claim ... Read moreunder our house insurance policy. The RACV engaged builder/assessor came up with water damage caused by rain where rain water supposedly came from a hole in the mortar. The report was full if inaccuracies, including a reference to an air conditioner instead of a heater. It almost looked like the RACV engaged builder/assessor copied and pasted someone else's report but forgot the check and update the information appropriately. After we pointed it out to the RACV that according to official publicly available information from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology it had not rained in the previous 8 days, RACV sent another assessor who spent less than 5 minutes at the property and decided that the cause for the water was that the house did not have sufficient drainage, completely ignoring the fact that there had been no rain in the 8 days prior to the event. It was almost like the second RACB engaged assessor was trying to cover up for the first one so that RACV can save face and still deny the claim. There was absolutely no attempt to explain (based on actual evidence/facts) how the water actually ended up under the house (without any rainfalls). Needless to say I will continue to pursue that and we will be changing insurance companies.
Everyday Home and Contents Insurance
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Hi Anne D, I am sorry to hear about your recent experience with your claim... Read more
. Thank you for raising these concerns, at Everyday Insurance from Woolworths we welcome and take your concerns seriously. Our Team is here to listen to and assist our customers. If you have not already lodged a complaint and would like us to look into this matter further, could you please send us a private message with your - Name, Date of Birth and Policy number. For more information about our complaint process, please visit our Compliments and Complaints page external link Kind regards, Jason Customer Resolution Specialist Everyday Insurance from WoolworthsSuncorp Home Insurance
Never in my lifetime that I have dealth with poor customer service, support and worst of all. The wait times horrendous haha it's like a joke really
40 minute wait and cuts out.
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Shannons Home and Contents Insurance
Insurance 4 That
ING Home and Contents Insurance
Ansvar Insurance
St.George Home & Contents Insurance
What's the difference between home insurance and contents insurance?
There are three main types of home insurance – building insurance which covers damage to building fixtures, contents insurance which covers your personal belongings and a combination of home and contents insurance which covers both. For homeowners who require both, it is usually cheaper to combine the policies and buy them as a bundle rather than separately, otherwise, you might end up paying two excesses for the same claim.
An excess is how much of the cost you will cover before the insurance company pays the rest. For instance, an excess of $100 will mean you will cover the first $100 of damage and the insurance company will cover the rest.
Home insurance
Home insurance covers physical structures and buildings in your home, including but not limited to garages, carports, outbuildings, gates and fences. This also includes any permanently attached fixtures like solar panels, walls, ceilings, and floor coverings for loss or damage caused by a range of insured events.
Contents insurance
Contents insurance can provide compensation for the loss of or damage to items in your home caused by insured events. These items include things like furniture, furnishings, clothing, unfixed electrical goods, jewellery, sporting equipment and appliances.
Types of content insurance
Content insurance is broken down into two main policy categories: policies that compensate for the value of your belongings and another type that replaces your possessions with new items, which is called new-for-old. This type of insurance is typically more expensive than the previous kind.
Value of your belongings
Some contents insurance policies will only cover the current value of your belongings, which naturally tend to depreciate over time. This means that the compensation you receive from your insurer in the event of a claim may not cover the cost of replacing your furnishings and you will have to pay the difference out of pocket.
New-for-old
On the flip side, a new-for-old policy will mean that your insurer covers the entire cost of replacing your damaged items with new items - even if they are retailing at a higher price now than they did originally. Naturally, the premium you pay for this insurance is higher than the other option.
Individual items
You can add certain valuable items to your insurance for an additional premium. This can cover items that can be used outside the home such as jewellery, sports equipment or camera, laptops and mobile phones. Unlike the normal plan, these items can be insured for accidental damages and loss.
Furthermore, this is a good option for when the item's replacement cost goes above the general limit on most plans. For example, an engagement ring or an invaluable piece of art may be worth more than the maximum insurance coverage on basic plans which means an individual content insurance plan may be the way to go.
What does home insurance cover and not cover?
Each insurance company is different, therefore you should always read the terms and conditions in the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) carefully to avoid any misunderstandings and to get an outline of what the insurance covers. Included should also be details of any excess you may have to pay in the event of a claim.
While tempting to skip, it's extremely useful to read the PDS in detail before signing up for any insurance policy since it'll outline any exclusions that come with a chosen level of coverage. This will save you any nasty surprises later down the road.
You can get different levels of coverage plans from the same insurer. A basic 'defined events' policy will only cover your belongings damaged or lost through specific events.
Generally, insurable events include things such as:
- Fire
- Theft
- Storm
- Earthquake
- Explosion
- Impact damage (such as from a car or a falling tree)
- Escape of water (such as from a burst pipe)
- Vandalism and riot
Broader coverage plans can also accommodate for accidental damage or let you insure items that can be taken out of the home such as cameras, jewellery or sporting equipment.
Keep in mind that many home insurance policies come with exclusions as they may not cover intentional damage or loss, damage caused by vermin or blemishes due to general wear and tear. Contents insurance may not be valid for loss of property via theft if the house was not properly secured or if the thief was let into the property.
Since every home and its contents will be valued differently, you'll have to enter your specific details in order to get a quote.
Landlord insurance
On top of house insurance, there is such a thing as landlord insurance that covers potential damage to your property by tenants or covers the cost of rent in the case that your house becomes uninhabitable due to an insured event.
Renters insurance
Those renting in a shared house can choose to buy a policy with their housemates as long as all of their names are on the policy. Choosing a policy with a higher excess and paying annually instead of monthly will lower the cost of the overall premium.
Is it worth getting home and contents insurance?
The age-old question remains: is getting home and contents insurance actually worth it? That answer depends on numerous factors such as how much you've invested into your property and contents and if you live in a high-risk area.
Even if we feel that our house is unlikely to get damaged or broken into, life is unpredictable and it's always a good idea to think about how best to financially deal in the worst-case scenarios. Getting basic coverage is advisable for every homeowner so you are not left stranded with no house or possessions in the case of an insured event or natural disaster.
In terms of forking out money for extra coverage and lower excess costs, that depends on how smoothly you want your claims process to go in the event of a claim. What you are essentially paying for is peace of mind that in the case that things do go wrong, you will be financially covered and the process will be efficient.
Here are some things you could consider when choosing whether taking out an insurance policy is right for you.
Value of your home
How much is your contents or house worth? Would you be able to cover the cost of repairs yourself in case things do go wrong? If you feel that you don't have a ton of valuables and live in a safe area, then it could be more cost-efficient to choose a plan with a high excess and low premium rate.
Vulnerability of your home
Do you live in a bushfire-prone area or somewhere with a higher crime rate? In this case, you might want to consider choosing a more comprehensive policy that will provide more security and a better return on investment in the long run.
Accidents do happen, and even though they're difficult to predict, having an existing home and contents insurance policy could save you a lot of future stress and money. Essentially, insurance policies are safety nets, and with the wide varieties of policies available, you can always pick a level of coverage that best suits your budget.
Factors to consider when buying home and contents insurance
Value for money
It could be useful to compare the different policies and quotes available to see which policy provides the best value for money for your specific needs. You can also read reviews to see how people rate a particular insurance company in this category.
Transparency
Another key factor you can scope out by reading trusted reviews is the transparency of your intended home insurance's policies.
Some companies may add sneaky charges or disclude common insured events in their PDS, preventing you from claiming the insurance when you need it.
Remember to read the policies carefully and speak to a representative for extra clarification should you require it. Be mindful to check for any exclusions and maximum claim limits.
Customer service
If you need to make a claim, you'll likely already be under pressure from the loss of your property or damage to your infrastructure. The last thing you need on top of that is stressful customer service. Paying a little extra for a company with a stellar customer service reputation is likely to reward you in time and energy down the road when asking queries or dealing with claims.
Claim resolution time
The claims resolution time is an important factor that contributes to overall customer satisfaction.
After a crisis, dealing with a company with a very slow resolution time can be frustrating and redundant. Read up on some reviews to see how long others had to wait for their compensation to come through. Some companies offer temporary living arrangements until they are able to fix your house as part of their policy.
Claim approval rate
The best way to find out whether an insurance company usually approves most of its claims is to read reviews. If a company consistently doesn't pay policyholders for claims when they should be according to the PDS, then it's likely to crop up in the reviews. This is valuable information that you won't see on their official websites or leaflets.
You can read reviews on the best home and contents insurance companies in the market today by scrolling up.
Disclaimer: The information on this website is for general information only. It should not be taken as constituting professional advice from the website owner - ProductReview.com.au. ProductReview.com.au is not a financial adviser. You should consider seeking independent legal, financial, taxation or other advice to check how the website information relates to your unique circumstances. ProductReview.com.au is not liable for any loss caused, whether due to negligence or otherwise arising from the use of, or reliance on, the information provided directly or indirectly, by use of this website.
Hi RandM, Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us. We are deeply sorry to hear of the passing of your Mum and apologise for the difficulties that you have experienced during this ... Read more
time. As this is not the service that we expect our customers to receive, we appreciate you bringing this to our attention and providing us with the opportunity to look into your experience and assist you further. I have escalated this matter to one of our Senior team members to review in more depth and best help you with your Mum's policy. Kind regards, Alisa