Home insurance claims

For information about what to do before, during and after a cyclone, storm, flood or bushfire to protect your home and belongings visit our severe weather page.

Yes, we cover damage caused by storms and weather, for example:

• Flood
• Cyclone or tornado
• Rain
• Thunderstorm
• Hail or snow
• Severe winds.

Your house needs to be structurally sound, water tight and well maintained before an event, to be covered.

If your home is unliveable we’ll arrange temporary accommodation close to your home.

We’re here to help 24/7 on 1300 549 193 so contact us as soon as possible if you think you’ll need to relocate.

If you call us we can either organise an urgent MakeSafe repair through our Repairer network or we can authorise urgent repairs for you to arrange yourself. We’re here to take your call 24/7.

For a quick and easy guide about what to do in the first minutes after an emergency event, download our MakeSafe Help Guide for your home buildings or contents.

You’ll need the details of what happened and when, along with a list of what's been damaged or lost.

If you're not the policy holder you can still start the claim by calling us. We’ll just need authorisation from the policy holder later by phone or email to allow the claim to proceed.

If you’re claiming because of malicious damage, vandalism, theft, loss or fire you’ll need to report the incident to the police and get an incident number. If you haven’t got one yet, you can start your claim without it and add it in later.

You can upload supporting photos, receipts and documents online at any time in your account, once you've submitted your claim.

If you’ve lost or had items stolen, it helps to provide proof of ownership, such as copies of receipts or statements showing when you purchased the item, photos of your item or packaging.

We'll arrange a convenient time with you to inspect the damages you’re claiming for.

We’ll let you know what needs to be repaired. If there’s anything that won’t or can’t be repaired, we’ll explain why.

For most claims we can organise one of our accredited Partners to do the work and we’ll provide a lifetime guarantee for the work done.

If you have a builder or tradesperson you would prefer to use, simply let us know.

We can organise for most items to be repaired or replaced through our suppliers.

We’ll arrange for items to be replaced and have them delivered to your home.

We can also provide you with a store credit card for one of our suppliers, or send the funds to you.

We may ask you to provide information to help us process your claim, such as:

• Purchase receipts
• Photos of the damage
• Credit cards or bank statements.

You can upload any documents or information online in your account.

The easiest way to confirm your coverage is to simply start a claim.

Frequently asked coverage information on:

• Leaks: We cover damage caused by leaks but not the item that caused the damage, for example a burst pipe. You may not be covered for damage from lack of maintenance to your home such as blocked gutters or a broken roof.
• Accidental damage: If you've chosen Accidental Damage cover on your policy you'll be covered for accidents in your home, such as water being knocked onto a laptop, or dropping your phone.
• Items outside of your home: If you've added Portable Contents cover to your policy you'll be covered for listed items in and outside your home anywhere in Australian and New Zealand.

Whether a claim will affect your No Claim Bonus (NCB) will depend on your current NCB level. Your NCB won't be affected if:

• You've added NCB protection to your policy or have achieved Claim Free Privilege Plus status, and it's your first claim for the policy year
• You've achieved Claim Free Privilege Life status
• If you start a claim and you aren't covered or choose not to proceed.

Log into your account to see your current NCB level, or find out more about how it works in our Premium, Excess and Discounts Guide.

When you submit your claim we’ll also advise if there’s been any change to your NCB and can help you understand if it could affect your renewal premium.

Sometimes damage ends up costing less to repair or replace than paying the excess. The best way to find out the cost of repairs is to start your claim. We can then assess the damage and advise you of the costs. In that case, you can always cancel the claim without impacting your No Claim Bonus.

If you’d like to discuss your options you can contact us on web chat first.

Unless you've chosen to have a $0 excess on your policy, it's likely that you'll need to pay an excess for your claim. You don't have to pay an excess if you make a claim for:

• Liability
• Food spoilage
• An incident we agree someone else is responsible for. You'll need to provide their name and address, and the claim amount needs to be more than the excess.

Your excess amount is outlined in your policy details online.

If you have a combined Home Buildings and Contents policy you'll only have to pay one excess (whichever is higher). Log in to your account to view your excess amount.

If an excess applies, we’ll tell you when you lodge your claim. In most cases you’ll be asked to pay the excess to the repairer or supplier. We can also deduct it from any payment we make to you.