FAQs

There are a number of ways you can pay for your Home Insurance, including conveniently online (except for Strata Insurance).

If you’re behind on your monthly repayments, it’s important you get up to date as soon as possible, or contact us to discuss your options.

Firstly, check if your debit/credit card details are correct, which you can do by logging into your account through GIO Online Services. If you can rule that out, please contact us as soon as possible so that we can help you rectify the issue.

To help you calculate the replacement value of your home and contents, use our Building Calculator and our Contents Calculator.

Contents are household items that you own or are responsible for and use primarily for domestic purposes. That doesn’t include items permanently attached to your home or insured address.

Your premium is calculated based on your sum insured along with many other factors, including your personal circumstances, your home, and its contents.

Common contents refer to unfixed items that are contained within the common areas of your building.

Safety Net Home Protection – included in GIO Classic Extras and Platinum cover – provides a financial buffer if the cost of repairing or rebuilding exceeds your sum insured.

Provided you have a GIO ‘owner occupier’ policy, continue to reside in the home, and no more than 2 bedrooms are being rented under a short term holiday rental or home sharing scheme (like Airbnb, or Stayz), GIO will continue cover. Conditions may apply.

Yes, if you have a holiday home that is only for your personal use and is unoccupied for a majority of the time. If you make a claim, you will likely need to pay an unoccupied excess.

Our Home and Contents Insurance policies only apply to completed buildings that are being lived in, so we do not cover new buildings during construction. Please contact us if you’re commencing building works or renovations at your home, including demolition.

No, GIO Home and Contents Insurance does not cover loss or damage caused by insects, vermin, or rodents – including termites.

If your insured belongings are damaged or lost during transit within Australia, while they’re in commercial storage, or if they’ve been temporarily removed from your property for up 180 days, you’ll be covered.

Carpet is covered under GIO Contents Insurance, but not under GIO Home Building Insurance.

The difference is in whether or not structures and items are attached or not attached to the physical building you are insuring. Home Insurance covers your home, garages, carports, outbuildings, gates and fences, along with any permanently attached fixtures like solar panels, walls, ceilings, and floor coverings for loss or damage caused by a range of insured events at your insured address.

Whereas, Contents Insurance covers only for the loss or damage to the contents in your home caused by insured events. ‘Contents’ are household items that you own or are responsible for and use primarily for domestic purposes. These include things like furniture, furnishings, clothing, unfixed electrical goods, and appliances.

Ultimately, the level of cover you choose, and with who, is up to you. Comparing Home and Contents Insurance should be based on what you need cover for, like home, contents, combined home and contents, strata, or landlord insurance. To compare Home and Contents Insurance, you can:

• Check what is automatically covered in each policy you’re considering;
• Review any optional/additional covers available;
• Get a quote for the policy or policies you’re looking at; and
• Compare the quote and what it includes against other quotes you may have received.

GIO customers can easily update their policy/cover by logging into GIO Online Services.

You can update your address/contact details easily by logging into GIO Online Services.

Yes, you can. To do so, please contact us.

There are several ways to pay for the renewal of your Home Insurance, including conveniently online with your Visa/MasterCard/American Express card, through your online account, and via BPAY.

We're sorry you're thinking of leaving. To discuss your situation further or to cancel your policy, call us on 13 10 10.

We understand that sometimes the unexpected happens and you may not have access to as much money as you normally would. If this happens to you, GIO customers have two options:

1. Premium Freeze Benefit

2. Premium Pause Benefit

Yes, you can pay fortnightly, monthly or yearly premiums at no extra cost.

Yes, you can easily set up direct debit or credit card payments when you purchase your policy.

GIO Funeral Insurance has a Value Promise benefit which makes sure that, when it comes time to claim, the amount your beneficiary receives will be higher than the total premiums you paid over the course of your policy.

With Funeral Insurance, you pay regular premiums to cover an amount of your choosing, which will then be paid out to your nominated beneficiary in the event of your death. With pre-paid funeral plans, you plan and pay for your funeral in advance, meaning it’s already paid for when you die.

Deciding on a level of cover varies between each person. You should factor in such things as what type of funeral you want, and how much you want to leave for your loved ones to assist them financially.

Yes, in some circumstances you can receive your pay out early as part of the Early Payment Benefit.

Yes, it’s completely up to you. You can choose one beneficiary to receive the pay out in the event of your death.

There are some instances that mean you won’t receive the full Funeral Benefit, all of which occur in the first 12 months of taking out your policy.

You can nominate who receives your Life Protect Death Benefit payout in the event of your death.

Yes, your premium will generally increase with age, as well as to keep in line with inflation.

Yes, you can apply to increase your cover at any time, but this process is subject to underwriting.

Your other option, to avoid any underwriting, is to consider the Lifestyle Increase Benefit. This benefit allows you to increase the level of your cover by a maximum of $100,000 annually, as long as it’s either the second anniversary of your policy, or you’re under the age of 60 and a life event as stipulated in our PDS occurs.

If you would like to cancel your Life Protect Insurance, please contact us. Please note that we have financial solutions that may potentially be able to help you if the reason you’re cancelling is due to a change in lifestyle or financial situation.

Yes. We’ve adopted the Life Insurance Code of Practice to ensure you get the highest standards of service in all your dealings with us.

No, however GIO is part of the Suncorp Group and we may be able to offer you Income Protection under Suncorp.

Yes, there are some circumstances in which you won’t be covered by your Accidental Injury Plan policy. For a full list of exclusions, you can refer to the Accidental Injury Insurance PDS.

Yes, you can conveniently make an online payment on your new or existing Travel Insurance policy.

We insure travellers of all ages, however the policy holder must be aged 18 years or older. If you are under 18, please contact our specialist centre on 1800 205 445 to discuss your options.

There is no cover for claims arising from a pre-existing medical condition (defined on pages 63-64 of the Holiday Travel Insurance PDS and pages 66-67 of the Annual Mult-Trip Travel Insurance PDS) unless:

• the pre-existing medical condition meets the criteria under the Tier 1 category (pages 12-13 of the Holiday Travel Insurance PDS and pages 10-11 of the Annual Multi-Trip Travel Insurance PDS) which are automatically covered; or
• when you applied for your policy, you disclosed any pre-existing medical condition you wish to be covered for by providing the information requested by us for the condition at the time of your application, and we have agreed and endorsed your policy separately in writing to specify each pre-existing medical condition that we have agreed to cover.

Cover for the pre-existing medical conditions(s) will only apply after you have paid any additional premium that we require.

A pre-existing medical condition is one that you’ve had investigated, treated, received medical advice for or taken prescribed drugs for. Read on for further information to help understand if your particular condition is considered pre-existing under your GIO travel insurance policy (please read the PDS for full terms and conditions).

Yes, for Holiday Travel Insurance the maximum journey is 12 months. For Annual Multi-Trip Travel Insurance, each trip can be up to 90 days.

You should select the region you are travelling to. We have 5 different regions to choose from:

You should set your return date as the date you arrive back your home address.

It should be based on the day you purchase your policy.

Public Liability relates to third party injury or third party property damage whilst you’re on the job, and Products Liability relates to injury to third parties or damage caused by any products you distribute, supply or manufacture.

Each business is different, and as such has different needs when it comes to insurance. However, you may want to keep in mind what contracts you work on, and the conditions of your licence when making a decision.

There are a few scenarios not covered by Public and Products Liability Insurance, including pollution, asbestos, and product recalls.

Professional Indemnity Insurance offers cover to businesses that provide advice or recommendations to clients.

Public Liability and Professional Indemnity cover different types of risks so, depending on your business, you may benefit from both policies.

Portable and Valuable Items Insurance covers the accidental loss or damage of portable and valuable items that you usually carry around with you in the course of your business.

There are a few instances and scenarios not covered by our Portable and Valuable Items Insurance. For an extensive list, please refer to page 58 of the Mobile Business Protect PDS, or page 104 of the Business Protect PDS.

Portable and Valuable Items refers to your tools or items you may take with you when out and about as part of your business. Stock, on the other hand, refers to the raw materials, merchandise and goods you trade in your business, and at your business premises.

Generally tied to motor insurance policies, an interested party is someone who may be financially concerned with your policy, but doesn’t have any authority over it. This could include your car financier or lender. In the case that your vehicle is written off in an accident, we’ll then know who to pay off in the event of any outstanding loans. 

Interested parties can be added easily to your car and motor insurance policy via GIO Online Services. 

1. Log into GIO Online Services and select the car or motor insurance policy you’d like to add an interested party to
2. Click ‘Update policy’
3. Select ‘Car finance’ and fill in their details from there

You might be looking for information on ‘authorised contacts’, who have full authority over your personal insurance policy. You can find that here.

According to the ATO, "you can generally claim a deduction for most operating expenses in the same income year you incur them".

An employee works for and is part of your business, whilst a subcontractor operates their own business while contracting their services to you.

You can conveniently make a claim online here.

We make it easy to pay for your insurance with a number of different payment methods available.

No, with GIO you can pay your insurance premium annually or monthly.

No, only direct debit is available for monthly payments.

Yes, you can vary your excess.

No, GIO does not charge any fees for credit card payments.

If your personal insurance policy has already been added to your GIO Online Services account, you can see if it’s active by selecting ‘View policy’. If you haven’t added your policy into your account, you’ll need to do so by clicking ‘Add policy’ and entering your policy details. 

Please call 13 10 10 if you’re unable to add your policy to your account or if you don’t have your policy details. 

An authorised contact (sometimes incorrectly referred to as an ‘interested party’) is someone who has full authority over personal insurance policies, including vehicle and home and contents. Authorised contacts could be people your real estate agent, partners and parents, and they can make policy changes on behalf on your behalf. 

You can add an authorised contact to your policy by emailing us using this link, or by calling 13 10 10. 

If you’ve forgotten your password for GIO Online Services, simply click on ‘Forgot your password?’ at the GIO Online Services login page. If you’d simply like to change it, you can do so by updating your account settings once you’ve logged in. 

Your policy number can be found on the Certificate of Insurance that you received when you purchased your policy.

Any time you renew your insurance, your premium is likely to change, even if your personal circumstances have not changed.

You can update your address, along with other contact details and preferences, by logging into GIO Online Services.

You can view and manage your policy online, by logging in GIO Online Services. You’ll need to register if you haven’t already. 

You can find all of GIO’s policy documents here.

You can obtain a copy by logging into GIO Online Services.

If you would like to request a copy of your Certificate of Insurance, you can do so through GIO Online Services.

You can use Visa, MasterCard or American Express to renew your policy online. For some policies, you can also use BPAY. For more information, visit our payments page.

It won't happen without us notifying you. We send renewal notices at least 14 days before your current policy expires, showing how much you need to pay and when the payment is due.

Most policies can be paid for online using your Visa or Debit card. Some can also be renewed using our online payment portal. Find out more by visiting our payments page.

You can view the details of your latest renewal in your paid renewal document, which you can obtain through GIO Online Services.

We're sorry you're thinking of leaving. To discuss your situation further or to cancel your policy, call us on 13 10 10.

Yes, we reward our seniors aged 60 or over who hold a valid State Government Seniors Card with a discount on GIO Home and Contents Insurance.

GIO does not price match quotes from other companies.

GIO do not offer cover notes (a form of temporary insurance covering the period between signing up for a policy and making the first premium payment).

Depending on your level of cover, you can increase your excess (the amount you must pay for each incident you make a claim for) by choosing a voluntary excess (from the range we offer, between $200 and $2,000) to reduce your premium.

A No Claim Bonus (NCB) is a discount off your comprehensive premium.

GIO Online Services shows claims information for Home and Contents, Landlord, Car, Motorcycle and Caravan Insurance, allowing you to track claims for those policies.

We (and other insurers) collect ESL to help pay for the NSW Emergency Services, including Fire and Rescue NSW, the NSW Rural Fire Services and the NSW State Emergency Services.

We began to remove ESL from insurance premiums during the 2016-2017 financial year. However, on 30 May 2017 the NSW State Government announced the deferral of the introduction of ESL (or the “FESL”) on council rates (therefore deferring the removal of the ESL from insurance premiums). As a result, we began to reintroduce ESL charges on relevant insurance premiums in late 2017.

Customers may find their total premium is higher than last year due to the reintroduction of ESL.  This levy is also charged by other insurers in NSW however each insurer decides its own rate for ESL. The money contributed by insurers is used by the NSW State Government to fund vital emergency services.

If you require any further information regarding the re-introduction of ESL, please feel free to contact us on 13 10 10.

Yes. Customers will be able to submit missing points claims until 31 July 2018 by emailing qantasrewards@gio.com.au.  Please note, only claims for eligible policies purchased or renewed with a start date on or before 31 March 2018 will be accepted. Terms and conditions will continue to apply.

View Qantas Business Rewards Terms and Conditions for existing GIO Business Insurance policies.

View Qantas Business Rewards Terms and Conditions for existing GIO Workers Compensation policies