INSURING YOUR HOME
Renting and contents insurance explained
Whether you enjoy being able to live wherever you like, you prefer the financial flexibility or it’s just the most practical option for your lifestyle and budget, renting is a popular alternative to owning a home. Between 2017-18, 32% of Australians rented their home — up from 30% in 2015-161.
When you’re renting, you may want to know your possessions are covered if they’re affected by fire (including bushfire), storm, flood, theft or burglary. That’s where having contents insurance for renters might come in handy.
What is contents insurance for renters?
Though your landlord is responsible for insuring the structure you live in, it’s up to you to cover the stuff inside it. Contents insurance for renters may provide you with the option to repair or replace your personal belongings if they’re affected by an insured event like fire (including bushfire), storm, theft or flood.
Generally, this kind of insurance will cover items left at home up to an amount specified on your policy. So you can choose the amount of cover that’s best for you and your living situation, GIO offers three levels of cover for renters: Classic, Classic Extras and Platinum. Classic is our basic level of cover, Classic Extras is our mid-range cover that includes everything in Classic plus a few extra covers and higher limits, while Platinum is our high-end cover.
Explore GIO’s Contents Insurance For Renters
GIO Contents Insurance covers the items owned by the people listed as insured on the certificate of insurance, and members of their family who normally live at the insured address. This means that if you live with others and take out a contents insurance policy with us in your name only, only items you own will be covered, unless you’re related to or in a relationship with another tenant – refer to the PDS for more information.
What does contents insurance for renters cover?
Contents insurance will usually cover the items that you keep at home. Think appliances and furniture items, electronics and important documents like your birth certificate. Even remote-controlled toys are included!
With contents insurance for renters, your stuff is covered in insured events like:
- Fire (including bushfire).
- Storm.
- Flood.
- Theft and burglary.
For a full list of GIO’s insured events please see the PDS.
Optional cover for renters
Certain things may not be covered by the most basic level of contents insurance and you may want to consider some optional covers:
- Portable Valuables Cover for items you take with you away from home such as jewellery, a laptop or your mobile phone.
- Injury to pet dogs and cats – with this optional cover we'll pay up to $2,000 for the necessary veterinary treatment.
- Accidental damage at home – if you’re worried about broken windows or a cracked TV screen, you may want to consider this cover (automatically included with Classic Extras and Platinum cover).
Get a quote today to find out more.
How to minimise home safety hazards
Your home is your castle.
So it's important to understand and minimise common safety hazards.
Here are a few ways to reduce the risk of fire at home:
Always pay full attention when cooking.
Regularly inspect your chimney and electrical systems, and always ensure you have working smoke alarms in the house.
Poisoning is another common safety hazard at home.
Things like carbon monoxide poisoning from fossil fuel burning appliances, ingesting cleaning supplies, or medications could affect you or your family.
To mitigate the risk of poisoning install a carbon monoxide detector and keep chemicals and medications away from children.
Water can be hazardous for everyone. But it is especially so for little people.
It only takes 20 seconds for a toddler to drown so it’s important to supervise young children around water at all times.
If you haven’t already, install a fence or a barrier around pools and spas for extra protection.
This is by no means an exhaustive list.
Be sure to do your own research and conduct a risk assessment of your home.
And for extra cover in an insured event like a fire consider GIO Home and Contents Insurance.
How to make a claim
If you’re a GIO customer, it’ll only take a few minutes to lodge your home insurance claim online or with the GIO App. All you need is:
- your policy number,
- details about when the event occurred and what happened,
- a list of the items(s) that have been affected (make sure you include the make and model of electrical items), and
- a copy of the police report if you’ve been affected by theft or burglary.
If you ever need to make a claim, having and maintaining a list of the things you own – especially if they’re valuable or one-of-a-kind – can be a useful habit to get into. Depending on the item, you may need to provide proof of ownership or proof of value – like a purchase receipt, photographs of the item in your home or a valuation certificate.
For more information visit our online help centre or get in touch with our knowledgeable insurance specialists today on 13 10 10.
Read more:
- Mobile phone insurance: what’s covered if you lose or break your smartphone
- How to insure your portable valuables
- Is it covered by Home and Contents Insurance?
1 ABS: Housing Occupancy and Costs, 2017-18
Insurance issued by AAI Limited ABN 48 005 297 807 trading as GIO. Limits, conditions and exclusions apply. Emergency funds are an advance for eligible customers, deducted from the overall claim. Consider the Product Disclosure Statement before buying 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.
