We will cover household goods or personal effects that are not fitted or fixed to buildings (this comes under your building insurance then), that you own or are legally responsible for. There are set maximum amounts that we will pay when you make a claim, and these are included in the contents sum insured amount.

Items that we don’t cover under our contents insurance:

• Unset precious stones/semi-precious stones
• Plants and trees growing outdoors, unless they are growing in pots or tubs
• Pedal cycles while they are being used for racing or pacemaking
• Motor vehicles, caravans, trailers or aircraft other than model or toy aircraft
• Registered motorcycles or mini-bikes
• Unregistered motorcycles or mini-bikes over 125cc
• watercraft more than 4 metres long
• watercraft less than 4 metres long that is powered by a motor of more than 10hp
• jet skis

HBF Accidental Damage insurance provides premium cover for your home and contents for any accidental damage or loss from unintentional or unforeseen events, such as theft, fire, explosion, landslide, storm or flooding. It also covers any accidental breakage of things like windows, glass, mirrors and sinks.

Your cover also includes:

• Alternative accommodation; in the event you are unable to live in your home as a result of building loss or damage we will cover the cost of alternative accommodation up to 12 months,
• Debris removal and demolishing; we will cover the reasonable costs to demolish and remove any debris that results from loss or damage to your buildings or contents, up to 10% of your building or contents sum insured (in addition to the sum insured).
• Contents in commercial storage facility; we’ll cover your contents for loss or damage whilst they are in a commercial storage facility in Australia up to the total contents sum insured, as listed on your schedule,
• Contents in transit; we’ll cover your contents for loss or damage whilst they are being transported by a vehicle to your home, or to commercial storage facility within Australia up to $10,000,

With Special Valuables insurance you can nominate an amount for your special valuable, and we’ll cover it for accidental loss or damage anywhere in the world for up to 90 consecutive days.

Unlike Accidental Damage insurance, Personal Valuables insurance covers the full amount of your insured item. That means if you insure a diamond ring for $8000 and then accidentally lose it, we will cover it for the full $8000 amount. Under an Accidental damage policy the most we will pay for this item is a maximum of $2500.

Items you can cover include:

• Jewellery & watches
• Stamp, cash or medal collections
• Camera equipment, including accessories unless they are being used underwater, or to earn an income
• Mobile phones, laptops and tablets
• Sporting equipment, unless it is being used (doesn’t include bicycles)

It depends on which policy you have. With Accidental Damage policy, your valuable items are covered away from home – up to 20% of your sum insured, or up to $7,500 in total per claim, with an item limit of $2,500. With a Listed Events policy or Fundamentals policy, valuable items are not automatically covered outside of your home.

If you have an item worth more than $2,500 that you take away from home, you can add an optional Special Valuables cover to your policy to make sure that the item is covered to its full value.

When choosing an amount of cover for your home, make sure to think about what it will cost to completely rebuild your home, not just the resale value. An easy way to get an accurate estimate of the value of your home is to use our building calculator.

Alternatively, you can use this common method of estimating, which considers things that can increase building costs.

• What would be the cost of rebuilding your house today, rather than when you originally built the home?
• What materials are used in the building and its finishes?
• How many levels are there? Is there a verandah?
• Is there a garage or carport?
• Is there a pool?
• Consider the costs of hiring professionals such as architects, engineers or surveyors
• What are the costs of council approval on plans and other fees?
• Check if your policy covers demolition, debris removal, levelling or landscaping – because many don’t and you would have to pay extra.

When choosing an amount of cover for your contents, think about how much it would cost to replace each item, not what they’re currently worth. Our contents calculator is an easy way to work out the right level of cover for your contents.

When calculating the value of your contents, don’t forget to include items like:

• Kitchen appliances and freestanding stoves
• Carpets, blinds, curtains and rugs
• Crockery, cookware and cutlery
• Food in pantry and fridge
• Artwork and books
• Linen and towels
• Clothes, shoes hats, handbags
• Check if your policy covers demolition, debris removal, levelling or landscaping – because many don’t and you would have to pay extra.

If you need to make emergency repairs to your house, let us know and we’ll organise one of our repairers to help you as soon as possible. Contact us on 1300 559 867 to lodge a claim and we will arrange these repairs for you.

If you’ve entered a contract to sell your home, we’ll extend your building cover to the purchaser until one of the following:

• the contract settlement date
• the purchaser insures the home
• the purchaser becomes liable for damage to the home

This cover will stop immediately if the sale contract is terminated, or your building insurance policy ends. Don’t forget, you will need to take out a separate policy for your new home.

If you’re about to start a renovation, you need to let us know as the cover provided under your policy may change. During your renovation, we will not cover any damage caused by water entering the building through an opening made for any renovation or repair work. Also, we will not cover any structural defect, faulty design or faulty workmanship from when your home was first constructed or when it is being renovated.

If you’re leaving your house unoccupied for a continuous period of 60 days or more, it’s a good idea to let us know, as there may be changes and special conditions which we may need to apply to your policy.