Do I need contents insurance as a renter?

With almost a third of Australian households renting their homes by 2017-18, there has been a steady increase in the number of Aussie renters, from 27%-32%, over the past two decades[1]. 

While some tenants enjoy the flexibility renting offers, for others, renting a home will always feel like a temporary measure. And while a majority of tenants continue to remain uninsured and unable to justify the additional cost of insurance, it’s the contents inside their home that may mean the most to them. 

A 2020 survey conducted by Budget Direct found that 85% of survey participants did not have landlord insurance or contents insurance if they were a renter [2]. This becomes a concern when an increasing number of renters can’t afford to replace lost or damaged belongings and aren’t protected from theft, breakages, fires, or storms [1].

While they may not own a home, renters still need to protect their belongings (or what’s known as contents) at a price they can afford. And this is where contents insurance will come in. 

For renters, contents insurance will cover the cost of repairing or replacing the items you keep at home like furniture, electrical appliances, and even potted plants. But before you purchase your policy make sure you determine how much it will cost to replace all of your contents. You can even use our Contents Insurance Calculator to get your first estimate. 

Your contents insurance will cover you for these insured events: 

• Fires 
• Theft or attempted theft
• Malicious damage, vandalism, riot or civil commotion
• Breakage of glass, ceramic and sanitary fixtures
• Storms and rainwater 
• Escape of liquid
• Lightning 
• Explosions 
• Earthquakes and tsunamis
• Impact at the home 

You may also need some additional cover to suit your situation, here’s what you can choose from:

• Flood
• Accidental damage 
• Motor Burnout 
• Commercial Storage 
• Sum Insured Safeguard
• Personal Effects Cover

Personal Effects Cover is an optional cover that is there to protect your portable valuables from accidental loss or damage whenever you’re outside the home. This can be anywhere in Australia, New Zealand or the world (for up to 90 days after you leave Australia). Keep in mind that this cover does come with some limits (up to $5000) but you can list your higher value items too.

You can specify items of a higher value (worth more than $1,000) so that they stay covered when you’re on the move. Everyday items like jewellery, watches and clothing may be worth more than any of the sub-limits for other (unspecified) items which means that you can tell us how much they’re worth. Keep in mind that only the amount we’ve agreed to cover will be displayed on your Insurance Certificate.

As a renter, contents insurance won’t cover damage to your home but it will cover your legal liability. This is for death or physical injury to another person or loss or damage to someone else’s property as the result of an accident. With this type of cover, you will need to let us know (when you can) if you’re expecting any legal costs, that way if your claim is accepted we can cover a reasonable amount of legal costs as long as you’ve obtained our consent. 

What if someone is injured as a result of your dog biting them or someone has slipped over in and caused serious harm to themselves (e.g a fractured or broken bone)? Sometimes accidents do happen and this is where having legal liability cover can protect you.