Home insurance comparison

The best home insurance policy for you may offer the level of coverage you need and the perks and benefits you want, with an affordable premium and reasonable excess. However, because every Australian home is different, the best home insurance options will vary greatly between households.

There are a range of factors and components to consider when selecting the best home insurance policy for your household, such as:

In the event of disaster, a sum-insured home insurance policy covers the cost of rebuilding your home, paying up to a pre-set dollar value for the required works. A total replacement policy will cover the full cost of repairing or rebuilding your home, no matter how expensive it may be.

Sum-insured home insurance policies can be more affordable, depending on the sum you choose to insure for, though this could leave you vulnerable to being underinsured in a crisis, especially if the cost of rebuilding or repairing your home proves higher than expected. Some insurers offer a safety net or safeguard feature that can add up to 30% to your sum-insured amount if your home experiences a total loss, which can help reduce the risk of coming up short in an emergency.

While total replacement cover can offer peace of mind that you’re unlikely to find yourself underinsured, these policies may cost more. Also, not all insurers offer total replacement cover, so you may have fewer options to compare to find the best options.

A home insurance policy covers the repair or replacement of your property if it is damaged or destroyed, but not the furniture and possessions you keep inside. Home-only insurance policies may include landlord insurance, as this protects an investment property while leaving the tenant to insure their own valuables.

To protect your possessions from the risk of fire, theft, or other loss or damage, you may want to consider contents insurance. This can include renters insurance, which can replace a tenant’s belongings in case of disaster, as it’s their landlord’s responsibility to insure the property itself.

Owner-occupiers could also consider a combined home and contents insurance policy, covering the cost to replace both their home and possessions in the event of loss or damage. 

Home insurance covers your home and/or possessions against a list of specific insured events. Some insurers exclude certain events from their coverage, such as damage caused by the sea, smoke, landslides or power failures.

In some cases, specific events may also be excluded from the list of insured events on your policy, such as bushfires, storms or floods. Some insurers may offer separate cover for one or more of these events as an optional extra (for an additional cost), while others may decline to cover homes located in areas prone to these events.  

You may have the option to increase the excess you’ll pay when making a claim in the future so you can pay a lower premium today. Of course, this could leave you short of cash when you’ve also lost your home, so alternatively you could choose to pay a higher premium today for a lower excess tomorrow.

There are many different home insurers in Australia, each offering a different type of service.

Some insurers are large institutions that operate nationwide, while other smaller insurers only provide coverage to local areas.

Some budget home insurers offer simple “no-frills” policies, with fewer features and benefits, but also at a lower cost.

When comparing home insurers, it’s important to not only look at their level of coverage and cost of premiums, but also their customer service. Some insurers operate online only, and can only be contacted via chat, email or over the phone, while others also have physical branches you can visit.

It’s also worth comparing reviews of home insurers and listening to word of mouth from family and friends on which home insurers may offer the best service when you really need them. Their experiences may be able to give you a better idea of which insurers are easy to deal with, which ones pay out claims efficiently, and more.

Some insurers offer additional features and benefits with their policies. Comparing these offers could help you work out which home insurer offers the best value for your household.  

These may include:

Bunded discounts and services

Some insurers are large institutions that offer a variety of products and services. Taking out a home insurance policy could let you access discounts on some of these offers, or you could get a bundled package of related products and services (provided these also suit your needs).

Perks and rewards

Some insurers offer access to rewards point programs, free gifts, and more to encourage you to join them. For example, a home insurer may offer a free set of security cameras for your home, to help safeguard against theft.

Finding the best home insurance for you will involve working out what you need from a home insurance policy, looking at the different offers that are available, and comparing quotes from different insurers.

One step by step method you can use is:

1. Calculate the cost of rebuilding your home and/or replacing your belongings (insurers may offer calculators to help you estimate the cost)
2. Choose between total replacement cover or sum insured cover
3. Check if there are any exclusions
4. Check if there are any maximum claim limits
5. If you’re looking at contents insurance, check if the insurer offers new for old replacements, or coverage for your mobile contents
6. Check if any events that could affect your area are covered e.g. fire, floods, storms
7. Check for any features or benefits that could offer extra value
8. Set your excess
9. Compare quotes
10. Contact your preferred insurer to apply

Remember that the story’s not over once you’ve had a home insurance policy approved. It’s important to compare what’s available each time your policy comes up for renewal, as your insurer’s offer may have changed, as well as your personal financial situation. Regularly comparing home insurance offers can help to make sure you always have a policy that best suits your household’s needs.