A guide to cover for accidental damage at home

Home and contents insurance policies generally cover loss or damage caused by certain insured events. Those events are detailed in the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS).

However, depending on the specifics of your policy, the cover may not extend to damage caused accidentally.

That is, if your home, contents, or both are damaged due to trips, slips and spills, you might have to pay for the entire repair or replacement bill out of your own pocket without the right cover. GIO Accidental damage at home cover may be able to offer some extra peace of mind.*

What is accidental damage insurance?

As the name suggests, GIO Accidental damage at home cover is designed to cover accidental damage or loss at your insured address, it does not cover you while you’re away from home.

This is also not a standalone cover. Instead, it is an optional cover that’s for an additional premium to GIO Classic Home Insurance, Contents Insurance, and Home and Contents Insurance policies.

But, if you have GIO Classic Extras and GIO Platinum Home, Contents, or Home and Contents insurance policies it’s automatically added to your cover!

How to add GIO Accidental damage at home cover to your policy

Accidental damage at home is automatically included with GIO Classic Extras and GIO Platinum home, contents and home and contents policies.

But, with GIO Classic policies, Accidental damage at home is an optional cover that you can add for an additional premium.

Start by selecting “Update policy details” when logging into your GIO Online Services account. Alternatively, call us at 13 10 10, make sure you have you email address and contact phone number details handy.

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What can accidental damage cover?

Here are just a few examples of events that your home can have cover for:

• Accidental damage to walls caused by shifting furniture.
• Damage caused by accidentally dropping something and cracking your floor tiles, except in shower bases.
• After cooking, you accidentally place a hot pot on a benchtop, causing the benchtop to melt or crack.

As for your contents, we can offer cover* for damage caused by:

• Accidentally spilling a glass of red wine on your living room carpet.
• Accidentally dropping and breaking your laptop as you move from your couch to your desk.
• Stumbling and knocking a new TV off its stand.

These are just a few examples. Know that an excess will apply if you need to lodge a claim. Limits and exclusions will apply, read the PDS to find out more about accidental damage at home cover.

What is the most you can claim for GIO accidental damage at home cover?

With GIO, Accidental damage at home doesn’t have a specific policy limit, you’re covered up to the home sum insured (if you have home cover) or contents sum insured (if you have contents cover) that you choose when taking out a policy. Your sum insured is the maximum amount listed on your policy that your insurer will pay for any one claim. Read the PDS for more information.

What is not covered under GIO’s accidental damage at home cover?

We do not cover:

• Damage caused by tenants, boarders or paying guests;
• Damage that arises because of wear, tear and gradual degradation. This includes damage from the process of liquid leaking, splashing, dripping, or overflowing over a period of time;
• When you are not able to identify how the damage occurred.

You can find a list of exclusions and limitations in the GIO Home and Contents PDS.

Need to make a claim?

Making an accidental damage at home claim with GIO online is easier than you may think. Here’s what you’ll need to get the ball rolling:

• Your GIO Policy number.
• Incident details like when it occurred, what happened and what was affected.

For claims involving electrical items, details about the make and model can help speed up your claim.

Make a claim

Read more:

• How much should I insure my home for?
• How to make a home insurance claim without receipts
• How to insure valuable items

* Subject to the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy. Read the PDS for details.

Insurance issued by AAI Limited ABN 48 005 297 807 trading as GIO. Read the Product Disclosure Statement before buying this insurance. The Target Market Determination is also available. This advice has been prepared without taking into account your particular objectives, financial situations or needs, so you should consider whether it is appropriate for you before acting on it.

The information is intended to be of general nature only. Subject to any rights you may have under any law, we do not accept any legal responsibility for any loss or damage, including loss of business or profits or any other indirect loss, incurred as a result of reliance upon the information. Please make your own enquiries.