How to make a home insurance claim

How to make a home insurance claim

Make sure you’re safe

Your safety is the most important thing in an emergency or after an incident, such as fire, flood or burglary. Relocate to a safe place and don’t re-enter your home if it is dangerous to do so. If you need emergency help, or if someone is injured, call Triple Zero (000). If you need help during a flood or storm, call the State Emergency Service (SES) on 132 500.

If safe to do so, prevent further damage by turning off affected utilities like water, gas or electricity. Secure the area to prevent further loss.

Check your policy coverage with RACV Home Insurance

Make sure that you are covered for the incident that occurred in your home. To do this, log in to your RACV account to view your policy coverage, along with any excesses or specific coverage limits.  
 
You can also check over your RACV Home Insurance Product Disclosure Statement (PDS).

Document the damage and decide whether you need ‘make safe’ help

Make sure to photograph destroyed or damaged items. These photos may be necessary in a home contents claim. You should also document any damage to your building if you have a buildings policy.

If you submit a home buildings claim, RACV Home Insurance will ask questions to see how safe your property is. If necessary, a qualified professional will attend your property to assess whether your home is safe and liveable, as soon as possible. If your house isn’t safe, you may be provided with temporary accommodation or have temporary repairs carried out on your home to make it safe.

Submit a claim to RACV Home Insurance

The easiest way lodge your RACV Home Insurance claim is online. You can also lodge a claim over the phone, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You will be asked a series of questions, including your full name and address, your policy number, the time of the incident, a description of what happened, and any photographs you’ve taken of the damage.

Manage your claim online

You can elect to be updated by email and/or SMS to track your claim progress.

RACV Home Insurance might contact you to ask for some additional information to progress your claim, depending on what you’re claiming for, such as proof of ownership, a damage report, or a police or fire brigade report.

You can provide proof of ownership with:

• Receipts and invoices

• Credit card or bank statements showing when you purchased the item

• Item packaging

• Photos of the original item and the damaged item (where possible)

• A valuation certificate (if the item was particularly valuable, such as a luxury watch or engagement ring).

You will be contacted when your claim is assessed.

Pay any insurance excess due

You may need to pay an excess on your claim before the claim is finalised. When taking out your home insurance policy, you would have had to choose the amount of excess payable on a claim. You may have chosen a higher basic excess, so that the premium you paid was lower. With RACV Home Insurance, you can pay your excess online after your claim has been assessed.

Work with RACV Home Insurance to repair or replace what you have lost

Contents claims are highly dependent upon the type of items you are claiming for. RACV Home Insurance will talk with you about what’s needed to remediate or support your loss after assessing your claim. Where possible, your item may be repaired or restored. Any replacements will be organised through our network of suppliers (usually within 10 business days); otherwise, you may be given a store credit.

If your building claim is settled with a repair or rebuild, RACV Home Insurance will allocate a builder, who will contact you with the work to review and approve before arranging a time with you to start repairs.