Home and contents insurance can cover your property and belongings in case of fire, storm damage, theft and more. The table below shows some of the standard features of QBE Home Insurance.
Received a communication about a remediation payment?
Understand why
Why choose QBE Home Insurance?
We’ve been awarded Mozo’s 2023 Exceptional Quality Home & Contents Insurance Award.
We’ve been insuring Australians for over 130 years.
24/7 friendly and helpful claims service.
Up to $30 million legal liability cover.
Home insurance
Home insurance can cover the cost of replacing or repairing your home and/or your belongings if something goes wrong.
To decide if this product is right for you, read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and Target Market Determination (TMD).
The buildings and contents insurance calculators can help you estimate how much cover you need.
Looking for home and contents insurance? Save 10% when you buy a new policy online!
IE11 or lower version is not supported. You are using an UNSUPPORTED version of Internet Explorer.
What's included in home and contents insurance cover?
Fire and theft
Building repair or replacement
Up to your buildings sum insured.
Up to your buildings sum insured.
Legal liability
Up to $30 million anywhere in the world
Up to $30 million at your home
Up to $30 million away from your home
Temporary accommodation
Up to 24 months or 20% of your buildings sum insured for temporary accommodation (whichever is lower) if your home is unliveable due to damage by an insured event.
Up to 24 months
Up to 24 months
Up to 24 months or 20% of your buildings sum insured for temporary accommodation (whichever is lower) if your home is unliveable due to damage by an insured event.
Buildings Sum Insured Safeguard
If you need to rebuild your home after a total loss and your claim exceeds your Buildings Sum Insured, we’ll pay up to 30% more than your Buildings Sum Insured. This benefit is included in your cover if shown on your Certificate of Insurance.
If you need to rebuild your home after a total loss and your claim exceeds your Buildings Sum Insured, we’ll pay up to 30% more than your Buildings Sum Insured. This benefit is included in your cover if shown on your Certificate of Insurance.
Extreme weather, natural disasters
For events such as storm, flood, earthquakes, lightning and tsunamis.
For events such as storm, flood, earthquakes, lightning and tsunamis.
Escaped water damage
For events such as a burst pipe.
For events such as a burst pipe.
Broken glass (accidental)
Vandalism or malicious acts
Damage by explosion
Burnout of electric motors
Includes cover for electric motors, up to 10 years old, in a domestic machine or appliance if burnt out by an electric current.
Includes cover for electric motors, up to 10 years old, in a domestic machine or appliance if burnt out by an electric current.
Security upgrades after a burglary
Towards the cost of purchasing and installing extra security that will reduce the likelihood of a similar burglary happening again.
Up to $500
Up to $500
Towards the cost of purchasing and installing extra security that will reduce the likelihood of a similar burglary happening again.
Replacement locks
To re–key or replace the locks in your home when the keys have been stolen within Australia.
Up to $2,500
Up to $2,500
Up to $2,500
To re–key or replace the locks in your home when the keys have been stolen within Australia.
Environmental upgrades - buildings
For example, if your buildings are a total loss and we rebuild them, we can cover the cost to install a rainwater tank.
Up to $2,500
Up to $2,500
For example, if your buildings are a total loss and we rebuild them, we can cover the cost to install a rainwater tank.
Environmental upgrades - contents
For example, if you have a claim and we agree to replace an item, we can replace it with a similar one that has a better energy rating.
Up to $500 per item, $2,500 in total
Up to $500 per item, $2,500 in total
For example, if you have a claim and we agree to replace an item, we can replace it with a similar one that has a better energy rating.
Food spoilage
Cover for spoilage of food or medicine that must be refrigerated or frozen because of failure of the electricity supply or mechanical or electrical breakdown.
Up to $500
Up to $500
Cover for spoilage of food or medicine that must be refrigerated or frozen because of failure of the electricity supply or mechanical or electrical breakdown.
Cover for contents while moving
Up to 60 days of cover for contents at both homes while you are moving.
Cover for contents while in transit in the event of fire, theft, collision or flood.
Cover for contents while in transit in the event of fire, theft, collision or flood.
Up to 60 days of cover for contents at both homes while you are moving.
Cover for contents while in transit in the event of fire, theft, collision or flood.
Cover for contents while in transit in the event of fire, theft, collision or flood.
Carpets, curtains and internal blinds
Repair or replacement of carpets, internal curtains, blinds and other contents in your home up to your contents sum insured.
Repair or replacement of carpets, internal curtains, blinds and other contents in your home up to your contents sum insured.
Collision by things like vehicles or an aerial
As an example, damage caused by a vehicle, trailer or caravan colliding with the property.
As an example, damage caused by a vehicle, trailer or caravan colliding with the property.
Damage by a falling tree or branch
Damage by animals
Lifetime guarantee on repairs
Lifetime guarantee on buildings repairs if we have selected and authorised the repairer.
Lifetime guarantee on buildings repairs if we have selected and authorised the repairer.
Accidental damage
Optional
Optional
Optional
Portable contents cover
If selected cover for items such as mobile phones and bicycles while away from home.
Optional
N/A
Optional
If selected cover for items such as mobile phones and bicycles while away from home.
Read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and Target Market Determination (TMD) for full details, including limits, exclusions and conditions that apply.
Ways to save on your home insurance premium
Here are some ways to reduce the cost of your home and contents insurance premium:
- Flexible excess
- Choosing a higher basic excess can lower your premium. Consider a basic excess you can afford to pay at short notice if you need to make a claim.
- Pay upfront
- Pay less for your home insurance premium when you choose to pay annually.
Read more about premiums, excesses and claims in the Additional Information Guide.
Save 10% on new home insurance online!
Buy a new home and contents insurance policy online today and you’ll save 10%!
Award-winning insurance
Mozo awarded us its 2023 Mozo Experts Choice Award for Exceptional Quality Home & Contents Insurance.
For the fourth year running, we’ve been named Finder’s Green Insurer of the Year in 2023. We’re honoured to receive this recognition. A big thank you to our customers, people and partners for helping us enable a more resilient planet.
We've been awarded the 2022 Personal Lines Mansfield Award recognising claims excellence in the Australian insurance industry. The Awards highlight the vital role that claims professionals play in the insurance industry and recognises those achieving excellence in this field.
Home and contents insurance calculators
You can use these calculators to estimate roughly how much it could cost to rebuild your home or replace your contents. By providing general information about your home the calculators can provide an estimated value and summary that you can further edit for a more detailed result if you wish.
Six ways to protect your home from thieves
Contents insurance can cover the cost of stolen belongings, but it can’t replace items of sentimental value or take away the trauma of a burglary. Proactivity is your best form of defence.
Four risks to your home, and how to combat them
Your home is more than just four walls – it’s a sanctuary for you and your loved ones. And chances are it didn’t come cheap. Understanding the risks your home faces can help you protect it.
Home and contents insurance FAQs
What’s covered depends on the type of home insurance you have and your specific policy. Most standard home and contents insurance policies can cover loss or damage of your belongings as well as your home in the event that something goes wrong like:
- Fire
- Flood
- Storm
- Theft
- Vandalism
- Water damage
- Glass breakage
In many cases, you can also add optional extras to your home insurance policy to provide additional coverage. This includes things like portable contents insurance (to cover your valuables when you’re away from home) and accidental damage.
Home insurance can cover your building, contents or both.
Home insurance for your building can provide cover for the cost of replacing or repairing your house, and home insurance for your contents can provide cover for the cost of replacing or repairing your belongings, due to loss or damage caused by things like fire, theft and storm.
When you choose a home insurance policy, you and your insurance provider agree on your policy’s coverage, conditions and premium.
The cost of home and contents insurance can depend on a number of factors, such as:
- How much cover you choose (sometimes called your ‘sum insured’)
- Whether you decide to add any optional cover, such as accidental damage or cover for portable valuables
- The basic excess you choose (the amount of money you may need to contribute towards the cost of a claim)
- Your claims history
- The location of your insured property
- Characteristics of your home
- Your payment frequency
Read more about premiums, excesses and claims in the relevant Additional Information Guide.
The easy way to compare home insurance and see how much it may cost you is to get a quote.
With QBE Home Insurance, carpets and internal blinds are insured under contents cover.
QBE Home Insurance can provide cover for loss of or damage to your buildings and/or contents caused by events like fire, theft, flood and more. You can upgrade your policy to include accidental damage cover for an extra premium.
To insure a contents item for an amount higher than the standard policy limit, you need to ask us to list it on your policy as ‘specified contents’. If we agree to list the item, an extra premium may apply for certain things such as jewellery. Cover is provided for contents and ‘specified contents’ when they are at your home address.
If you have contents cover and own a portable item that you would like to insure away from your home, you can select the Portable Contents option for an additional premium. You can select the cover by choosing certain categories of items with a category limit, or you can list a specific item. If we agree to list a specific item, it will be shown as a ‘specified portable contents’ item on your Certificate of Insurance.
We’ll usually need valuations, receipts or serial numbers as proof of ownership in the event of a claim. To find more information about the limits that apply to the policy, refer to your Certificate of Insurance and the relevant PDS.
Not with QBE Home Insurance. To insure your personal valuables away from home, you’ll need to add the Portable Contents option for an extra premium. When you add portable contents cover to a home insurance policy, cover is provided for the items you have selected anywhere in Australia and New Zealand, and for up to 90 consecutive days anywhere else in the world.
Yes, our home insurance policies provide cover for loss or damage caused by flood. For further details, refer to your PDS.
Yes please. You must tell us if your home will be unoccupied for more than 90 consecutive days.
Other conditions may apply and you’ll find more information about unoccupied properties in your Certificate of Insurance and the PDS.
A certificate of currency is a document issued by QBE providing evidence of a current insurance policy. It includes details such as the name of the insured(s), the start and end date of the current policy term and the type of cover. Request a copy online or call us on 133 723
Note: A certificate of currency does not contain premium or payment information.
If you have buildings cover, QBE Home Insurance provides cover for removal of debris as part of your buildings sum insured if we need to repair, replace or rebuild your home. You need to make sure you’ve allowed for this cost when setting your buildings sum insured.
You can use the buildings and contents insurance calculators to help you get an estimated replacement value of your home and its contents.
The Buildings Sum Insured Safeguard benefit is like a safety net. It’s designed to help protect against underinsuring your buildings. Your Certificate of Insurance will confirm if your policy includes the safeguard benefit.
If it does and we accept a claim that exceeds your buildings sum insured, we can pay up to 30% more than the buildings sum insured shown on your Certificate of Insurance.
Head to our home insurance claims page to make a claim online or call us 24 hours a day on 133 723.
This Home Insurance is issued and underwritten by QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited (ABN 78 003 191 035, AFSL 239545). Any advice provided is general only and has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs and may not be right for you. To decide if this product is right for you, please read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and the Target Market Determination (TMD).