Home and contents
Buildings, contents, or both. Flood is in the standard wording, not an upsell. The sum insured is checked against what builders are actually charging in your region, not a 2019 table.
Three ways to hold it
Buildings only
The structure, the fixtures, the fences, the driveway, the in-ground pool and the shed. The usual choice for a landlord who is not furnishing the place, or an owner whose contents sit under the contents limit anyway.
Contents only
Everything you would take with you if you moved. The usual choice for renters and for unit owners whose body corporate already insures the building. Portable valuables can be listed individually.
Both, on one policy
One policy, one renewal date, and one excess when a single event damages the structure and what is inside it. That last part is the reason most people combine them.
What is covered, and what is not
Summarised from the wording. Where this page and the Product Disclosure Statement differ, the PDS wins.
Buildings
Covered
- Storm, rainwater and hail, including damage to the roof and to fixed solar
- Flood, using the standard definition in the Insurance Contracts Regulations
- Fire and bushfire, including smoke damage and firefighting response costs
- Named cyclone, after the 48 hour waiting period
- Impact by vehicles, falling trees and branches, and aircraft
- Escape of liquid from a pipe, tank, appliance or fixed apparatus
- Theft, attempted theft, burglary damage and malicious damage
- Removal of debris and the professional fees to rebuild to current code
Not covered
- Wear and tear, rust, rot, mould and gradual deterioration
- Faulty workmanship or design in work done after you bought the place
- Damage caused by tree roots or by ground movement that is not sudden
- Actions of the sea, storm surge and high tide (flood cover is separate and included)
- Damage while the home has been unoccupied for more than 90 consecutive days
- Wilful damage by you, or by someone who lives there with your consent
Contents
Covered
- The same insured events as buildings, inside the home and in locked outbuildings
- Contents in the open air on your property, to a sub-limit
- Food spoilage after a power failure of more than six hours
- Money and negotiable documents in the home, to a sub-limit
- Contents temporarily removed while you move house, for up to 30 days
- Portable valuables anywhere in Australia and New Zealand, if you list them
Not covered
- Unspecified jewellery or watches above the single-item limit on your certificate
- Items used for a business run from the home, unless a business pack is in force
- Motor vehicles, caravans, trailers, boats and their parts
- Livestock, pets and plants growing in the ground
- Mobile phones and laptops away from the home unless listed as portable valuables
Liability and living costs
Covered
- Legal liability to other people for injury or property damage, to $20 million
- Temporary accommodation for you, your household and your pets, up to 12 months
- Emergency make-safe work booked before the claim is decided
- Locks and keys rekeyed after a break-in or a lost key
Not covered
- Liability arising from a business, a trade, or an unregistered vehicle
- Liability to anyone who lives in the home with you
- Fines and penalties imposed by a court
Underinsurance is the expensive mistake, not overpaying
The three numbers people leave out of a rebuild figure are demolition and debris removal, the cost of building back to the current code rather than the old one, and the professional fees to get there.
- Sum insured review
- Recalculated at every renewal against regional builder pricing, and shown to you as a figure you can change rather than one applied silently.
- Safety net
- If your building sum insured falls short after a total loss, we add up to 25 per cent, provided you accepted our review figure at the last renewal.
- Standard excess
- $500, $1,000, $2,000 or $4,000, chosen by you. One excess per event, even when the event damages both the building and the contents.
- Waiting periods
- 72 hours for flood. 48 hours for named cyclone. Nothing else has one.
Home cover, asked and answered
What is an excess, and when do I pay it?
An excess is the amount you contribute to a claim. On most Wattle policies you pay it once per claim, and if we are settling by payment we simply subtract it. Some events carry an additional excess, for example an earthquake excess, or a young driver excess on motor. Every excess that applies to you is printed on your certificate of insurance in figures, not buried in a schedule.
Is flood automatically included in home insurance?
Yes. Wattle home and contents policies include flood as a standard covered event, using the standard definition of flood set out in the Insurance Contracts Regulations. We do not sell a version with flood stripped out. If your address sits inside a mapped flood overlay we will tell you before you buy, and we will show you what the premium looks like with and without mitigation work done.
Is there a waiting period after I buy?
For most events, no. There are two exceptions written plainly in the PDS. Flood has a 72 hour waiting period from the time the policy starts, and named cyclone has a 48 hour waiting period. Both exist to stop a policy being bought once a specific event is already forecast. If you are moving an existing policy from another insurer without a gap, the waiting period does not restart.
What happens if my home is not liveable?
Temporary accommodation starts before the claim is decided, not after. Ring the claims line, tell us the place is not safe to live in, and we arrange and pay for somewhere for you, your household and your pets. On home policies this runs up to twelve months, or up to the temporary accommodation limit on your certificate, whichever comes first.
Price your place with the duty already in it
Four short groups of questions and a figure that includes GST and your state stamp duty. Mitigation you have already done comes off the price on the same screen.