Home Insurance

There are three types of excess.

Basic excess
This is how much you pay when making a claim, including claims for fusion cover and portable items (if you've added them to your policy). Choosing a higher basic excess can reduce your premium.
Your basic excess can be $100, $200, $300, $500, $750, $1,000, $2,000, $3,000, $4,000 or $5,000. If you're aged 50 or older, you can choose a $0 excess, instead of $100.

Accidental Damage excess
If you choose to add Accidental Damage cover and make a claim, you'll pay a $300 excess instead of your basic excess.

Special excess
If a special excess applies to your policy, you'll need to pay this as well as your basic excess.

Yes, you can choose monthly direct debit instalments, or one annual payment. Keep in mind that if you pay annually, you'll save some money.

If you're taking out a new policy, you can choose your payment frequency when you sign up. Already have a policy? Call 13 72 28 to switch to monthly payments at your renewal time.

The amount you insure your home and contents for (we call that the ‘sum insured’) should be enough to rebuild your home or replace your contents if you had to do it today.

Remember, when we talk about your home, we don't just mean the building itself. If you have things like fences, sheds, in-ground pools, or covered car spaces, they count too.

There are a few things to think about:

• If you underinsure your home and contents, you may be caught short if you have to totally rebuild and replace them
• If you insure your home and contents for more than it costs to rebuild and replace them, you'll only be able to claim the actual cost to do so
• Your building sum insured will be different to the market value of your home, which you might find on a property valuation, because it doesn't include the land value
• Make sure you include the cost of demolition and debris removal, building and planning professionals, plus any statutory or regulatory requirements.

You can use our buildings calculator and contents calculator as a guide.*

There are a few things you can do to save on your premium.

Increase your excess
Choosing a higher basic excess can reduce your premium. But remember, if you make a claim, you'll pay more out of pocket.

Pay annually
When you pay your insurance upfront, instead of in monthly instalments, you may pay less.

Add more policies
When you have two or more eligible RACV Insurance policies, you’ll save 10% off each, thanks to our Multi-Policy Discount. That means combined building and contents policies automatically save.

But it's not just for home insurance – all RACV motor, caravan and trailer, and boat insurance policies are also eligible.

Stick with RACV
The longer you're a Member, the more you can save on RACV Insurance policies (and other eligible products). It's our way of thanking you for staying with us.

Apartment buildings are usually covered by strata insurance, but you can get cover for the things you keep inside your apartment with contents insurance.

Buildings Insurance covers the structures on your property, from the building you live in, to fences, sheds, garages and in-ground pools. It also covers permanent fixtures and fittings – think floorboards, cabinets and even solar panels.

Contents Insurance covers the things you keep inside and around your home, that aren't permanently attached. That means everything from furniture and appliances to curtains and carpets.

Your carpets and rugs are covered if you take out Contents Insurance, Combined Building and Contents Insurance, Landlord Contents Insurance or Landlord Building and Contents Insurance.

So if they're damaged due to an insured event like fire, flood or storm, you're covered.

Basically, contents are household items that you own and aren't permanently attached to your home.

They include things like:

• furniture and appliances
• clothing and linen
• mobile phones, computers and tablets
• internal blinds
• curtains and drapes
• carpets and rugs
• furnishings
• medical items
• toys
• tools.

You can also insure portable and valuable items.

For a full list of what you can cover, see the Product Disclosure Statement.

You're automatically covered for up to $2,500 in each of these categories:

• Art
• Music, games and movies
• Collections
• Jewellery and watches.

If you want to insure any category for more than this, you can list them as valuable contents.

These items are only covered inside your home, unless you add them as portable items.

When you take out insurance that covers your contents, you can add portable items to your policy. This covers items if they're lost or stolen anywhere in Australia or New Zealand. You’ll also get limited cover anywhere else in the world.

We'll ask you for the value of your contents across different categories.

They include:

• electronics (including mobile phones, wearable technology, tablets or laptops)
• jewellery and watches
• glasses, sunglasses and hearing aids
• wheelchairs, scooters and prosthetic limbs
• camping, sporting and recreation equipment (including musical instruments)
• clothing and luggage (including handbags and wallets).

All RACV Home Insurance policies automatically cover theft by an intruder.

You can choose to add accidental damage to most policies, so you'll be covered for any unintentional damage to your home or belongings.

Keep in mind that your basic excess will apply for theft claims, but for accidental damage claims, there is a separate excess of $300.

Yes, your phone will be covered for all listed events at home, if you include its value in your general contents.

You can also add accidental damage cover, to protect you for things like dropping your phone and cracking your screen when you’re at home.

If you want your phone to be covered if it's damaged, lost or stolen while you're away from home, you can add it to your policy as a portable item.

You can also add other types of portable technology like laptops, tablets and smart watches.

No, but some mortgage lenders will need you to have buildings insurance, as a compulsory condition of the home loan.

If your property has a mortgage, make sure you check what’s required with your lender.