Recent research by NRMA Insurance has revealed more than 50 per cent of Queensland households have not increased their sum insured in the past 12 months,* leaving many exposed to financial loss in the event of a claim.
Across Australia, underinsurance remains a problem with one in three households estimated to have inadequate cover, while nearly 1.8 million of Australia’s 7.7 million households have no insurance at all.**
Underinsurance remains a problem with one in three households.NRMA Insurance State Manager Brett Robinson encouraged households to regularly update their home and contents insurance in line with their spending and lifestyle.
“With consumer spending at an all-time high, it's important to ensure these assets will be adequately protected in the event of an insurance claim,” Mr Robinson said. “Just a few purchases can change the value of your contents significantly, so updating the value of your sum insured helps ensure you have adequate cover.”
Mr Robinson said households that have altered their home recently – especially any type of renovation or extension – should also revisit their insurance.
To ensure your household has adequate home insurance cover for 2008:
- review your building and contents sum insured when renovating or making large purchases
- don’t simply include furniture and appliances when calculating your sum insured – commonly overlooked contents include kitchen items, manchester, DVDs, CDs and clothes
- make sure you’ve taken the cost of architects, surveyors and debris clearing into account on your home building insurance
- take extra building costs into account if you live on a sloping site
- don’t forget luxury fittings you may wish to replace, such as marble bench tops or gold taps;
- factor in external buildings such as sheds, granny flats or freestanding garages
- calculate the current replacement cost of all your contents, not the amount you paid or its second-hand value
- consider additional cover for items such as expensive jewellery or valuable art
Visit the NRMA Insurance website for a home building and contents calculator.
*Research based on a survey of Australian households by Woolcott Research on behalf of NRMA Insurance, October 2007.
