Protecting the true value of your assets

Sarah and her partner moved from Tasmania to Queensland 4 years ago and purchased their first home. Over time, they made minor renovations to the house: updating the bathroom & kitchen, replacing the carpet, and adding a carport. Sarah kept us updated throughout their renovation process to ensure that their insurance coverage was adequate.

Unfortunately, their property was extensively damaged during a flood. However, as we had worked with Sarah to update her sums insured throughout the renovation, we were able to lodge a claim for the full costs needed to rebuild her home. Our comprehensive policy for Sarah also covered her additional expenses of removal of debris, temporary accommodation, storage of contents and fees for professional services associated with the re-build.

A report by ASIC found that up to 80% of Australian households could be underinsured. Underinsurance is having an insurance policy that doesn’t have enough “sum insured” factored in to cover all potential losses. If the sum insured doesn’t reflect an up-to-date reinstatement or replacement cost, you will be underinsured and may have to pay substantial out-of-pocket expenses if you need to make a claim.

While you think that you may be able to estimate how much it would cost to rebuild your house, you may not have a thorough understanding of all the components that go into rebuilding. There’s changes to building codes, construction methods, and standard materials – not to mention the cost of building that has increased dramatically over the past two years.

We have calculators available to assist in determining an adequate sum insured for your home and/or contents, or we can put you in touch with a property surveyor to determine replacement cost estimates for both Residential and Commercial.

*Name changed for privacy reasons