INSURING YOUR HOME
Home insurance tips for the new year
The start of a new year is the perfect time to get everything in order, including your home and contents insurance. Things like Christmas gifts, completed renovations and a general increase of your land value over the past year can affect your total sum insured. An amount that was sufficient last year may not be anymore. Making sure your cover is up to date can help you avoid underinsurance, meaning you’ll have enough to cover costs if anything were to happen to your home and belongings.
Meet Jim and Kate. With a growing family, they decided to move house and are now looking for the best deal on their home insurance... but it’s all so confusing!
Sound familiar? Here are our top tips that every home insurance customer should know!
Valuing your contents correctly is important:
If they’re overvalued, you’ll pay more than you need for your home insurance premium.
If they’re undervalued, you could be caught short if you need to make a claim.
Imagine trying to replace your furniture with only half the money that it’s worth!
To get an accurate idea of the value of your contents, jot down your assets and keep digital records of receipts where possible.
With GIO Home Insurance, you can choose to adjust your excess which then impacts your premium:
pay a higher excess when you claim and a lower premium, or a lower excess when you claim and a higher premium. It’s up to you!
While home insurance can provide coverage in an insured event, prevention is always better than cure.
Keep your house safe and secure by checking your fire alarm regularly, locking windows and doors when you’re out, and consider installing a security alarm.
It won’t just help to deter burglars, but, in some situations, could also save you money on your insurance premium… win-win!
Did you know, if you hold three or more eligible policies with us, you’ll enjoy a 10% discount on your premiums?
Eligibility criteria and exclusions apply.
Head to our Ways to save page to find out what other discounts and benefits you might be eligible for!
There’s no guarantee that everything will be covered.
You might find the additional coverage provided by our ‘Safety Net Home Protection^’ useful.
It provides a financial buffer if the cost of repairing or rebuilding is more than what you’re insured for, for example, if your home needs to be rebuilt or repaired because of a fire.
While it might be tempting to go for the cheapest option, it’s important to compare all levels of cover, and make sure you’re across any terms, exclusions and limitations in your policy.
GIO has three levels of cover, so why not compare them today and choose the best one for you… or complete a few steps to get a quote – it’s quick and easy!
When it comes to home and contents insurance, it’s good to know you’re covered with GIO.
Head to gio.com.au for more info on Home and Contents Insurance.
Update your sum insured for the new year
Your sum insured should be enough to replace your home and everything in it, if they were damaged or destroyed. Not updating your sum insured regularly could leave you with a ‘coverage gap’, where your insured amount isn’t enough to cover the costs needed to replace or repair everything.
Get a Home and Contents Insurance Quote Today
Calculate your home building value
Because of inflation, the value of your home can change over time, especially if you’ve completed any renovations. With the new year, it’s always a good idea to see if the value of your home has increased over the past twelve months. Ignoring this could mean that the building value on your policy becomes outdated, and the cost to rebuild your home could now be higher than before.
Not sure where to start? Our home building calculator can help.
Make sure that you factor in certain rebuilding costs, such as demolition, debris removal, architectural and engineering costs, and council fees
Take stock of your contents
After the gift-giving season, it’s important to update the list of contents and valuables that you’d like to be covered by your Home and Contents Insurance policy. If you haven’t already, you can start your list by videoing each room of the house, cataloguing your contents, and digging up receipts.
The more comprehensive your list, the easier the claims process should be if anything were to happen, and the more accurate your sum insured will be.
Our Contents Insurance Calculator can help you to estimate how much to insure your items for.
Take preventative measures
Getting your home storm season ready and making sure your home security is in check can help to avoid damage and grief. It can also help to make the claims process easier should you need to make one. Securing your outdoor area from wild weather, keeping your windows shut while you’re out, and asking a neighbour to get your mail while you’re away are handy tips to start with.
Stay ahead with your cover
While you may have gotten your sum insured in order and taken preventative steps to secure your home, there’s no guarantee that everything will be covered. Help get that extra peace of mind for the year ahead with things like Safety Net Home Protection, which can help safeguard you against the coverage gap. Safety Net Home Protection can provide a financial buffer if the cost of repairing or rebuilding exceeds your sum insured. This can be added onto the GIO Classic Home Insurance cover or is automatically included with GIO Classic Extras and Platinum cover. Launch into the new year with our Home and Contents Insurance today.
Read more :
- Home security tips for the Christmas season
- How much should I insure my house for?
- Do you have the right home insurance policy?
Insurance issued by AAI Limited ABN 48 005 297 807 trading as GIO. Consider the Product Disclosure Statement before buying this insurance.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.
