Home and content insurance in Australia
Home and content insurance is a combination of two kinds of coverage. Aside from the usual coverage for home insurance, you can also insure the contents or the belongings that you have inside. That would include the usual stuff that you would take with you when you are going to transfer to a different house. It is vital here that you know how much each item would cost. That is going to be needed before the value of the piece is paid by the insurance.
What is Included as Content
The following types of belonging would be included in the list of things that would be covered by a content insurance:
- Appliances and other household goods.
- All kinds of furniture
- Valuables such as cameras and jewellery.
- Clothes and other personal belongings.
- Money, bonds and other related financial belongings.
Calculating the Value
In applying for insurance, we have mentioned that you need to have an idea of the actual cost of the belongings that you have. There are some online tools, such as contents calculator which can provide an approximate value to the belongings that you have.
Insured Against What?
One thing that you ought to know before getting this form of is what your belongings are insured against? Here are some ideas:
- Theft
- Fire
- Flood and Storm Damage
- Eartquake Damage
- Vandalism
Now you see how Home and Contents Insurance can be helpful to you. Here are some tips that you can keep in mind when you are shopping for the best coverage that you can find:
- Bear in mind that some insurance providers has set a cap on the amount of the valuables that they can insure. They might limit the value of the jewellery that they are insuring at $5,000. If your jewellery has a value that is higher than that, then you might have to think about getting a different policy for it.
- If you are leaving your home for more than a month, then it would be a good idea to check your policy. You might actually void your policy when you do so.
- Pest damage is normally not covered. That’s because it is seen as the responsibility of the home owner.
- Flooding is another tricky matter. Some insurers will not cover your place for flood damage if your area has a history of flooding.
- If you have a home office, any damage there is not going to be covered by your home and contents insurance. You would need to get a business insurance policy for that.

