In some circumstances GIO may send you an SMS requesting an excess payment.
Reports about misleading or deceptive car insurance schemes are becoming more common in Australia.
If you decide to engage a third party, you should always ask for their:
Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) number to check it against ASIC’s database
Required fees
Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) credentials.
If you suspect you’ve responded to a fraudulent email or been a victim of fraud, contact us immediately.
GIO will never send an SMS message requesting an excess payment to progress your home claim. If you receive such a message, please delete it immediately.
During major events, third parties may door knock or letter drop offering to manage your insurance claim. Please be aware that:
- these services are not provided by us
- we’ll never send an assessor or builder to your home without first notifying you, and
- we won’t demand payment on top of your excess for the work being undertaken.
If you’re approached by a third party, you may be asked to pay for these services using a percentage of your insurance settlement. You should always carefully consider the use of these services as your insurance policy doesn’t cover this cost.
If you decide to engage a third party, you should always ask for their:
- Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) number to check it against ASIC’s database
- Required fees
- Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) credentials.
Remember: Never sign a contract/authorisation to act on your behalf (physically or electronically) until you’ve received the information you’ve requested.
View your PDS and Certificate of Insurance in the GIO App, or in your "My Account" to find out what is and isn’t covered under your policy.
You can lodge a claim without paying your excess. Our claims team will discuss payment options with you.
Yes. You can pay your excess in the GIO App, or log into your account and select the relevant claim. This will take you to ‘My Claim Manager’ where you can pay your excess.
If you’re having trouble paying for your excess, our claims team can work with you to find a suitable alternative.
Our claims team will identify next steps. This may include booking an assessment, repairs, replacements, and/or arranging payments.
This may take longer than usual if there’s been a severe weather event, but we’ll be in touch as soon as possible. In the meantime, remember to take photos or videos of the damage and if possible, a sample of each type of carpet. You can also remove wet carpet and damaged contents before an assessor visits your home.
Our claims managers will evaluate the damage at lodgement to determine next steps.
Based on your circumstances, we may direct you to one of our trusted repairers or an alternate location to further assess your vehicle.
Log into your GIO account to see claims updates, message your claims manager, and upload documents and photos. If you don’t have an account yet, registering only takes a moment.
A home claim assessment determines the outcome of your claim after loss or damage to your home and/or contents.
Once you’ve lodged your claim, we’ll organise an assessment and contact you to arrange a time to attend your property and inspect the damage or loss.
We’ll let you know the outcome of your claim as soon as we can. If we require additional information, we’ll let you know. If your claim is covered, we can then discuss repairs or settlement depending on the circumstances of your claim.
You can track your claim online to see an estimated time of completion, though this depends on the nature of the repairs or replacements.
Managing Damage
If your home has completely or partially flooded, or your carpet, furniture, or contents were damaged by rain, remember to:
compile a detailed list of items (including the make and model or a description)
take photos of the damaged items, and if possible a sample of each type of carpet and
remove the damaged items from inside the home and place outside for disposal.
Let us know about the damaged items next time we’re in touch. There is no need to immediately reach out and you do not need to wait for an assessor. Rest assured, we’ll work with you to include all details in your claim.
Validating loss or damage to contents helps us take the necessary steps to repair or replace covered items.
Proof of loss or damage can be given by providing:
photos of damage
details of a police report (for theft), or
proof of ownership documents (receipts, manuals etc).
For more valuable items we’ll ask for more evidence to substantiate your claim than we would for less expensive items.
These documents can quickly and easily be added when you claim online or via the GIO app.
Please contact our dedicated Claims Team via Live chat Monday to Friday 8am to 9pm and weekends 9am to 5pm AEST.
When lodging a claim, just provide us with an estimated cost of how much food spoiled. Claims that only involve food spoilage are excess free. You can find out your policy limit for a food spoilage claim in your PDS.
Please contact our dedicated Claims Team via Live chat on this page, Monday to Friday 8am to 9pm and weekends 9am to 5pm AEST.
Yes, please lodge a claim as soon as possible.
It depends on your policy. Please check your PDS or speak to your claims manager.
There’s no need to immediately reach out if you find anything new. Just make a note of the problem and take photos. The next time we’re in touch, let us know about it and we’ll include all the details in your claim.
If a different part of your home is damaged by another event, please lodge a new claim online.
Repairs
Your claims manager will let you know if you need to complete any maintenance before repairs can start. This is because maintaining your property is your responsibility, as outlined in your policy documents.
If we accept your claim, we’ll cover the reasonable and necessary costs of demolishing and removing damaged parts of your home. This includes fallen trees or branches if they’ve damaged your home (and the damage is covered by your policy) and removal is required in order to do the repairs.
You can find more info about this coverage including limits, conditions and exclusions in the PDS or talk to our dedicated claims team if you have questions.
No, however we guarantee the quality of the workmanship for all authorised repairs if we have selected and directly authorised a supplier.
Alternatively, if you do not accept our offer for us to repair the damage, you will be paid the amount of our builder’s assessed quote.
To learn more, refer to the PDS.
My Cover
If you can't live in your home after an incident covered by your policy, you may be entitled to reasonable temporary accommodation costs until your home is repaired or rebuilt. If you’re not sure whether this applies to you, or you want more information on limits and exclusions, check your policy documents or get in touch with us to discuss.
Our network of repairers and suppliers will restore your home to the condition it was in prior to the loss or damage for which you’re claiming. After assessing your home, we will create a scope of work.
A Scope of Work is a detailed summary of the work that will be undertaken to repair or rebuild your home.
After you’ve signed your Scope of Work, our builder will confirm the start and estimated completion dates. Your Claims Manager will also keep you up-to-date on the progress.
After frequent unpredictable flooding in recent years, it’s important that we provide you with flood cover even if it seems unlikely a flood will occur at your address.
First, make sure everyone is safe and out of danger. Then make a claim.
If you have a GIO Home Insurance policy and can’t live in your home due to an incident covered by your policy, you may be entitled to cover for the reasonable and necessary temporary accommodation costs for the time it takes to repair or rebuild your home so it can be lived in again. Limits, conditions and exclusions apply, check your policy documents for details including limits.
Cash Settlement
A cash settlement is the money we may offer to settle your claim. This amount could cover some or all of your claim.
If you accept a cash settlement, we’ll pay you the amount it would cost us to repair the damage or replace any items, or the amount of a quote assessed and approved by us. You’ll be paid by direct deposit into your bank account, or if available, for contents claims you can choose to be paid with a voucher, store credit or store value card.
Please keep in mind that:
- The quoted amount may be less than what it costs you to fix or replace the item. This is because we’re able to secure discounts from our supplier network.
- Our guarantee on workmanship will not apply to repairs organised by you.
For more information, please speak with your claims manager.
Your cash settlement is based on relevant repair, replacement, or rebuilding costs. Please see your PDS for more details. If this cost is greater than the sum insured on your Certificate of Insurance, the cash settlement will be your sum insured amount minus any required taxes or charges.
If you’ve settled your repairs with cash, it’s possible further damage not included in your settlement of your claim is found. If this occurs, please cease any repair work and contact us immediately. We’ll then assess the additional damage. If we determine it was caused by the insured event and covered under your policy, we’ll make an additional payment to complete your repairs.
If you have a mortgage, please contact your lender before accepting a cash settlement to discuss the payment. For more information, please refer to the ABA fact sheet.
It may also be helpful to keep in mind that when an item is repaired by GIO, the repair work is guaranteed by us. If you choose to repair or replace the item yourself, we can’t guarantee this work.
You should consider obtaining legal or financial advice prior to accepting a cash settlement.
Yes. You can choose a cash settlement for your claim subject to the terms of your policy and policy limits. If this applies to you, the cash settlement amount will be based on the assessed quote less any applicable deductions.
Documents
A scope of work is a detailed summary of the work that will be undertaken to repair or rebuild your home. This includes the repairs that will be made in each room and the materials used. The scope of work will be updated as needed.
Your assessor, builder or claims manager will explain your scope of work and provide you with a copy for your consideration. Remember, your repairs or rebuild cannot commence until you have signed your scope of work.
A Confirmation of Transaction is a summary of the activities that relate to your claim, such as a cash settlement, repair or replacement. If you’d like a copy, please contact your claims manager and they’ll give you a copy when your claim is finalised.
Managing My Claim
To help us progress your motor claim, try to send us images of:
a three-quarter front view of your vehicle
a three-quarter rear view of your vehicle (taken from opposite side of your front image)
a rear view clearly showing your number plate
any identifying car model badges (GLi, TDi, etc)
VIN number
your car’s interior from a few different angles
your odometer
the compliance plate (the build date of your car), and
a wide shot of damaged area.
It’s against the law to drive a car with a major windscreen crack, so our motor claims specialists will organise towing. In the meantime, try to cover your windows or windscreen.
Assessment
Please remove all personal items from your car before attending your appointment and bring your registration papers with you.
We’ll help you make travel arrangements should you need to leave your car.
The appointment should take approximately 15 minutes. We’ll confirm next steps with you after the assessment.
Repairs
Laws vary across Australia regarding when a vehicle needs to be written off, so we’ll let you know if your car is repairable and talk you through your options after it’s assessed.
It depends on your policy. Please check your policy documents or speak to your claims manager.
Depending on the damage, we’ll either use conventional or paintless dent repair (more on this in the FAQ below). We will confirm this with you after your car assessment is complete.
Paintless dent removal (PDR) is a less intrusive way of repairing vehicle damage. It involves pushing dents out of damaged panels to restore them to their original condition.
With PDR, most vehicle components don’t need dismantling and little to no repainting is required. This means, on average, PDR repairs have around a 50% shorter turn-around when compared to conventional methods.
