FAQs

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

 If you pay your premium by instalments and an instalment is overdue we will let you know, and we can cancel your policy

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.

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.

Am I covered while my property is being renovated?

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. If you are renovating your home or unit, we will not cover any loss or damage to, or caused by, connected with or arising from those building extensions, alterations or renovations (other than the cover available under ‘Legal Liability’) including:

• damage caused by cracking, collapse, subsidence caused fully or partially by the construction work;
• damage caused by storm, flood or water entering the home through openings in the walls or roof or other parts of the home under construction, whether or not they are temporarily covered at the time of the damage;
• damage caused by storm or flood to any part of the home that is not fully built or is undergoing extensions, alterations or renovations;
• theft or damage by someone who enters or leaves through an unlockable part of the home that is under construction;
• damage caused by a malicious act or vandalism to unfinished parts of the home.

Please contact us if you’re commencing building works or renovations at your home, including demolition

LEARN MORE ABOUT HOME & CONTENTS INSURANCE

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.

No. While coverage is included for damage caused by animals - with some limitations and exclusions, as outlined in the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS)  - that coverage does not extend to damage caused by animals you own or for which you are responsible.

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.

If you have a home emergency at your insured address, we will dispatch a tradesperson for a period of up to two (2) hours to provide assistance (this is referred to as an emergency call-out).

A home emergency is a sudden and unforeseen incident that occurs to your home (but not your contents) and that requires the urgent attention of a tradesperson.

Some geographical limitations apply to availability of cover. That is, there are certain areas of Australia in which it is not currently available.

In the event of a home emergency, GIO Home Assist will be able to dispatch a plumber, an electrician, a locksmith, and/or a carpenter.

No. As part of the agreement, only a qualified GIO Home Assist Tradesperson can be used.

You are entitled to receive three emergency call-outs during the period of insurance. Additionally, if it is determined that two tradespersons are required to attend to your single home emergency, then two emergency call-outs will be deducted from your entitlement.

No, a GIO Home Assist call-out is not identified as a claim under your policy. Therefore, there is no excess payable for GIO Home Assist.

GIO Home Assist can be contacted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our support team will be able to assess the emergency. Assistance will be provided as quickly as possible, but during certain hours there may be limited availability. The response time will depend on a variety of factors including severity, location, and the level of demand.

This optional cover will apply in addition to the additional cover ‘Accidental breakage of glass’ which is included in the Home cover only and offers repair or replacement following accidental breakage of:

- fixed glass in windows, doors, skylights and shower screens in your home

- mirrors fixed to your home.

When you have this option and the claim is only for the accidental breakage of the glass mentioned above, we cover the cost to replace it without you having to pay an excess.

Refer to the PDS for more information.

We will also cover the frame of any window, door or shower screen, but only if necessary to enable the glass to be replaced.

Refer to the PDS for more information

No, chips and scratches (and any breakage that does not extend through the entire thickness of the damaged item) are excluded.

Refer to the PDS for more information

Yes, accidental glass breakage is automatically covered under your policy. However, when you make a claim, you will need to pay the applicable excess. When you have Excess-Free Glass cover and the breakage relates to the type of fixed glass listed in the optional cover (see question 1 and the PDS), you do not pay an excess when you make a claim.

Refer to the PDS for more information

No. Accidental breakage of glass in or of any contents is excluded under Excess-Free glass cover. It is only available with Home cover.

Refer to the PDS for more information

If you take out the Excess-Free Glass optional cover, it will appear on your Certificate of Insurance. You will need to pay extra for this optional cover.

Refer to the PDS for more information

Making a claim can be done online, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

No. You can only claim under Excess-free glass cover when the only damage is the accidental breakage of glass listed in the optional cover. You will need to lodge a claim for storm damage, in relation to both the roof and windows. You will need to pay any excess that applies to your policy.

You can take out the Excess-Free Glass cover as part of your Building Insurance. If you have this optional cover and a window in your home is accidentally broken (and that’s the only damage), you can claim under this option and no excess applies. Refer to the PDS for the type of fixed glass that is covered.

Remember you can only claim for the window if there was no damage before you added on the optional cover.

Refer to the PDS for more information

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.

Public Liability covers your legal liability to pay compensation for injury or damage to property caused to a third party in connection to your business. For example, if a customer slips and trips while on your business premises.

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, including (but not limited to):

• Loss or damage caused by third party factors such as general wear and tear, scratching, biting or chewing by any animal, or atmospheric conditions
• Testing, experimentation, intentional overloading, misuse or abuse
• Loss or damage to an item worth more than $2,500, unless you have added it to your policy
• Mechanical, hydraulic, electrical or electronic breakdown 
• Theft or vandalism carried out by any member of your family or any of your employees during a period of time when they are lawfully permitted to enter or be on your premises.

For an extensive list, please refer to the Mobile Business Protect PDS and Business Protect PDS in the Policy Document library.

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.

If you run a hospitality business, like a café or restaurant, Hospitality Insurance may help cover costs for which you’re liable in the event of injury or property damage connected with your business. For example, if someone slips in your store or something you sell causes illness, providing your claim falls within the policy terms and your claim is accepted, it can help with these costs.

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 visit the GIO claims page for more information.

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, we only offer direct debit from either a bank account or credit card.

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.

How do I cancel my policy?

We're sorry you're thinking of cancelling. Before you leave, check out how you can:

• save on your policy, and
• pay for your policy

You can also find help and support options on our contact and help hub.

To discuss your situation further or cancel your policy, contact us by:

• chatting to us online
• calling 13 10 10, or
• sending an enquiry.

If you do cancel, you may qualify for a refund of the unexpired portion of the premium less any non-refundable government charges. Minimum refunds apply. Contact us to learn more about policy cancellation refunds.

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.

A duty to take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation applies to Consumer Insurance Contracts. To meet this duty, it is important that you answer questions truthfully and accurately.

If you experience a problem, are not satisfied with our products or services or a decision we have made, please visit our Customer Relations & Complaints page to access more information. 

Each of GIO’s insurance products utilise a five-stage product lifecycle (Design, Delivery, Review, Enhance/Modify and Decommission). This approach allows us to put you, the customer, at the centre of our product development and distribution.

Product Development and Distribution Policy

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.

GIO customers may find their total premium is higher than last year due to an increase in the Emergency Services Levy (ESL). This levy is also charged by other insurers in NSW. The money contributed by insurers is used to meet our funding obligations to the NSW State Government to fund vital NSW emergency services. This includes Fire and Rescue NSW, the NSW Rural Fire Services and the NSW State Emergency Services whereby the NSW State Government has increased the fund required to cover these services.

Your quote, new business or renewal schedule will display the amount of ESL you are required to pay.

If you have any questions about how this might impact the cost of your insurance, please contact us.

For more information on the ESL you can:

• Call the FESL Hotline on 1300 787 872,
• Visit the NSW Government Revenue ESL information page.

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

If you’re uncertain whether the text or email is genuine, contact us immediately on:

• Suncorp – 13 11 55
• AAMI – 13 22 44
• GIO – 13 10 10
• Apia – 13 50 50­­­
• Shannons – 13 46 46

We help keep your details safe online with firewalls, online security measures while you’re logged in, and in-built security across all our apps. We also maintain close partnerships with key organisations such as the Australia High Tech Crime Centre and the Australian Federal Police to ensure any threats are effectively managed.

If you suspect you’ve responded to a fraudulent email or been a victim of fraud, contact us immediately on:

• Suncorp – 13 11 55
• AAMI – 13 22 44
• GIO – 13 10 10
• Apia – 13 50 50­­­
• Shannons – 13 46 46

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