Home insurance in Canberra

Wherever you live in Australia, if something was to happen to your home or contents and they weren’t insured, you’d bear the full cost of rebuilding and/or replacing what you’ve lost. Having a home insurance policy in place means that if the worst happens, you can feel confident that you won’t have to cover the costs alone – no matter where you live in Australia.

Canberra residents (and individuals all around Australia) can choose from the following home insurance options:

• Building insurance, which covers the structures on the site, i.e., the home, garages/carports, fences etc.
• Contents insurance, which covers the belongings located within the home
• Home and contents insurance, which combines the two above options into one policy.

You can check the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) of any home buildings or home contents insurance policy to understand the differences and what each covers and read the Target Market Determination (TMD) to know what each policy is suitable for.

Home insurance isn’t compulsory in Canberra, but anyone who purchases their property using a home loan will usually have to take out home insurance. This is because banks typically won’t give you a home loan for an uninsured building.

Home insurance policies taken out in Canberra will typically provide the same cover as a home insurance policy taken out anywhere else in Australia. That means a policy can provide cover for a range of insured events including:

• Bushfire damage
• Storm damage
• Earthquake
• Theft or attempted theft
• Debris removal
• Vandalism
• Escape of water caused by a burst pipe
• The cost of temporary accommodation if necessary due to damage to your home building.

This cover will apply to the main building, as well as any garages or carports located at the insured address. Depending on the policy and insurer, a home insurance policy may also provide some degree of legal liability cover.

Be sure to check the PDS of any given policy for a full list of that policy’s home insurance inclusions.

Home insurance taken out in Canberra (or anywhere else in Australia) typically won’t cover you for certain types of damage and certain events, including:

• Existing damage
• Damage or loss that occurred because your home wasn’t properly secured
• Damage or loss that occurred while you’d been away for longer than 60 days
• Actions of the sea such as a tsunami or storm surge
• Damage caused by nuclear material or contamination
• Accidental damage
• Damage caused by war, riot or civil commotion.

Check the PDS of any home insurance policy you’re looking at to get the full details on what it doesn’t provide cover for.

A contents insurance policy taken out in Canberra will typically provide the same level of cover as a contents insurance policy taken out anywhere else in Australia. That means cover for the replacement costs of belongings you have in your home, such as furniture, blinds, clothing, electronics and appliances.

Cover may vary when it comes to more expensive contents like laptops, jewellery, or mobile phones.

Contents insurance will largely protect against the same range of insured events as home insurance – bushfire damage, vandalism, water damage, theft or attempted theft etc. Note that a standard contents insurance policy may not provide cover for accidental damage.

Depending on the insurance company, when you take out a home insurance policy in Canberra (or anywhere else in Australia), you may be able to add some optional covers to your home insurance policy for an extra cost. Some common optional extras on home insurance policies include motor burnout and portable contents cover.

Motor burnout cover insures you in case the motor in an appliance in your home like your fridge or washing machine burns out. If this happens, the insurer will typically cover the costs of repairing the appliance.

Portable contents cover lets you insure items you take outside the house like your phone and wallet, so you’re covered for their replacement costs if they’re stolen or damaged.