5 things you may not know home and contents insurance can help cover

Life is full of uncertainties, and while we can’t predict the future, we can certainly prepare for it – home insurance is one way of doing this.

Legal liability from someone being injured

Let’s start with one that probably doesn’t cross your mind very often. Legal liability arising from bodily injuries can be a daunting financial burden to bear without insurance. If someone is injured at your property and you’re found to be liable, then you could be left out of pocket for their medical expenses, rehabilitation costs and legal fees.

With GIO Home and Contents Insurance, we’ll cover your legal liability to pay compensation for the loss or damage of someone’s property, or their injury or death, if either results from an incident at the insured address. The most we will pay for all claims from any one incident for legal liability covered by this policy is $20 million, including all associated legal costs.

GIO Contents Insurance also covers your liability outside of your home, extending to anywhere in Australia or New Zealand. This is up to the same $20 million limit, including associated legal costs. For example, let’s say you happen to ride an electric scooter into your neighbour’s fence and are found to be liable for the damage. We’ll help cover the costs to repair the fence, minus a standard excess. Read the PDS for details.

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Temporary accommodation if your home is unliveable

If a fire, flood or storm or other insured event severely damages your home, it could be left uninhabitable, meaning you may have to find alternate accommodation for that period. Whether it’s renting, a hotel or some other arrangement, without insurance, you may find yourself facing steep expenses to keep a roof over your while your home is being repaired.

That’s where GIO can help. If your home can’t be lived in due to an event we cover, we’ll pay the reasonable and necessary temporary accommodation costs for the time it takes to make the home liveable again. For short-term accommodation, like hotels, this is up to four weeks, while for residential accommodation, this is up to a percentage of your home sum insured.

For more information, please read the Product Disclosure Statement.

Accidental loss of items away from home

Whether you're at home or travelling, accidents can lead to lost or damaged personal belongings. Perhaps you misplace your camera during a trip, or your phone gets damaged after an accidental drop – replacing these items yourself can be surprisingly costly.

Cover for accidental loss or damage to unspecified portable valuables is available with all GIO Contents Insurance policies. This is up to defined limits for each level of cover, which are as follows:

• Classic – This is an optional cover that you must pay an extra premium for. We pay up to $1,000 per item, pair, set or collection, up to the total sum insured chosen.
• Classic Extras – We automatically include $4,000 of total cover, which can be increased for an extra premium. We’ll pay up to $1,000 per item, pair, set or collection, up to the total sum insured.
• Platinum Contents – The standard limits of your contents policy.

Certain items such as watches and jewellery are automatically covered up to these limits anywhere in the world for up to 30 consecutive days (or 100 consecutive days with Platinum cover) if they’re being worn or kept in a secure safe.

To cover portable items for more than these limits, with GIO Contents Insurance you can list items as specified portable valuables, which covers your valuable items anywhere in Australia or New Zealand.

To specify an item, provide us with a description and amount you want each item to be insured for, and this will be added to your certificate of insurance for an extra premium.

For more information on inclusions, limits, and covered items, please read the PDS.

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Glass doors and windows

Glass doors and windows add elegance to our homes, but they are also vulnerable to damage from things like severe weather, accidents and vandalism.

GIO Home and Contents Insurance covers your glass doors and windows, ensuring the financial burden on you is mitigated if an unfortunate incident occurs.

If you’ve added optional Excess-free Glass cover to your Home policy, you may not have to pay an excess if you need to make a claim. This depends on a few factors, so read the PDS for more information.

Kitchen cabinetry

Water damage can be costly, especially when it affects essential areas like the kitchen, where it can turn pristine wood into warped and damaged mulch.

If your kitchen is impacted by a sudden escape of liquid, like from a burst pipe, GIO can help cover the costs of repairs or replacement of the cabinets. This is so long as the damage is not the result of wear, tear or gradual deterioration – like, for example, from a slow continuous leak or drip, which isn’t covered – so make sure you’re keeping up with home maintenance to prevent small issues from becoming big headaches.

Be sure to read the PDS for details on escape of liquid inclusions and excusions.

Make a claim

If you have GIO Home Insurance and need to make a claim for an insured event, you can easily do so online or through the GIO App. You’ll need to have the following details ready:

• Your GIO policy number
• Details about when the incident occurred and what happened.
• Details of what has been lost or damaged.
• To help speed up your claim, have details about the items being claimed on-hand.
• If the loss from a burglary, theft or other criminal act you should notify the police and obtain a report.

We’ll take it from there, and will contact you if we need to confirm anything.

Make a claim

Read more:

• How to get portable valuables insurance with GIO
• Are water leaks covered by home and contents insurance?
• What does GIO Home and Contents Insurance cover?

Insurance issued by AAI Limited ABN 48 005 297 807 trading as GIO. Consider the Product Disclosure Statement before making a decision about this insurance. The Target Market Determination is also available. This advice has been prepared without taking into account your particular objectives, financial situations or needs, so you should consider whether it is appropriate for you before acting on it.

The information is intended to be of a general nature only. We do not accept any legal responsibility for any loss incurred as a result of reliance upon it – please make your own enquiries.