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Our homes offer us shelter, safety, comfort and security. So whether you’re a homeowner, a renter or a landlord, it makes sense to insure your home with cover that suits your needs. To help you decide which policy is best for you, here’s a breakdown of 5 different types of home insurance, and what they cover.

1.       Building and contents insurance

Most homeowners, including those paying off a mortgage, can combine building and contents cover under the one insurance policy. This type of policy provides cover for loss or damage to your building due to a wide range of insured events – including fires, storms and theft. It also protects the things that make your house a home, like carpets, furnishings and personal belongings.

Building and contents insurance policies have different benefits and exclusions depending on the insurance provider – so it is important to make sure the policy you choose meets your needs. For example, some policies include features like domestic pet cover and alterative accommodation if your home becomes unliveable because of an insured event, so you won’t be left with extra costs at a challenging time.

2.       Standalone building insurance

Depending on your circumstance, you may only want building insurance as a standalone insurance policy.

Standalone building insurance provides cover for damage to your home caused by insured events like storm, fire or a flood. It usually also covers external permanent structures like a pool or granny flat, but it won’t cover your personal contents belongings. 

3.       Standalone contents and renters insurance

Standalone contents insurance covers your personal belongings like TVs, jewellery, furniture, curtains, artwork and clothing while they are at your home. However, it won’t cover any damage to the building itself. If you’re a renter, your landlord’s responsible for insuring the building – but you’re responsible for your own personal belongings and items.

Renters insurance is a type of contents policy designed with renters in mind. It covers the things you own – like clothes, food, toiletries, personal valuables furniture and more. It could even cover your belongings while in transit if you need to move within Australia.

4.       Landlord insurance

Landlord insurance can provide cover for the building, contents or both. In addition to cover for loss or damage caused by insured events like a storm, fire or flood, you can also cover the rent loss if your investment property becomes unliveable because of these events.

Most insurers also offer additional optional cover to protect against tenant specific events like accidental building damage or malicious damage caused by tenants.

5.       Portable contents cover

For everyday portable items that you take with you when you’re out and about or on holidays, there is Portable contents cover. This includes items like sunglasses, watches, jewellery, laptops and sporting goods. Portable contents insurance policies range is cover depending on the insurance provider – so it is important to choose the one that meets your needs.

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Things you should know

This article is intended to provide general information of an educational nature only. It does not have regard to the financial situation or needs of any reader and must not be relied upon as financial product advice.

Home Insurance and Car Insurance are provided and issued by Hollard Insurance Partners Limited ABN 96 067 524 216, AFSL 235030 (Hollard) and distributed by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia ABN 48 123 123 124, AFSL 234945 (CBA). Hollard is not part of the CBA Group. CBA and its related entities do not sell, issue or guarantee the obligations or performance of Hollard or the products Hollard offers and these insurance products do not represent a deposit with or liability of either CBA or any of its related bodies corporate. If you purchase a Home Insurance and/or Car Insurance policy, CBA is paid a commission which is a percentage of your premium.

For products issued by Hollard, information about the target market can be found within the product’s Target Market Determination available here.

This information has been prepared without considering your objectives, financial situation or needs.  You should, before acting on this, consider the appropriateness of the product to your circumstances. A Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) is available at all Commonwealth Bank branches, by downloading them from commbank.com.au or by calling 13 2423 and should be considered before making any decisions about this product. You should also read the Premium, Excess and Discount Guide (PEDG), Key Facts Sheets (KFS), and Financial Services Guide (FSG) by clicking on the links, or by calling 13 2423 for a paper copy.