Building insurance deals

What is building insurance?

If you are looking to insure your property – whether living in it yourself or renting it out as an investment – you’ll want to consider getting building insurance. 

Building insurance covers the structure of your home against loss and damage caused by things like fire, storms, flooding and vandalism. It can also include coverage for things like internal fixtures, landscaping, fences, garages and other fixed outdoor structures like pergolas.

When choosing between building insurance policies, it’s important to carefully review the insurable events as well as any cover limits and exclusions in your product disclosure statement (PDS). 

What’s the difference between building insurance and home & contents insurance?

Building insurance is often referred to as ‘home insurance’, which is one half of a home and contents insurance policy. Contents insurance is the other half, which covers the belongings within your home against theft and damage. 

If you’re living in the property (as opposed to renting it out) and want this kind of coverage as well, it may pay to combine the two policies. While you can purchase each on its own, providers often offer discounted premiums when you take out combined home and contents insurance under the same roof.

If your property is an investment and you’re renting it out, you might prefer to take out landlord insurance. This provides similar coverage to building insurance, but will often also cover things like lost rental income if tenants default on their rent and legal liability in case anyone is injured or dies on the property.

If you're after a combined home and contents policy, start researching with these options from the Mozo Experts Choice Home Insurance Awards.

How much building insurance do I need?

Underinsurance can create major problems if you need to claim on your building insurance. It’s essentially a situation where your home costs more to repair or rebuild than you’ve had it valued at and recorded with your insurance company. 

It’s important to have an accurate estimate of the replacement value of your home should you need to rebuild, and to get it re-evaluated at regular intervals as living and building costs change over time. 

To get an accurate estimate, talk to an architect, builder or property expert. Some insurance providers will offer underinsurance protection as an optional extra, just in case a valuation isn’t accurate.

Another important thing to remember is that the cost to insure your home is not the same as the price you paid for your home or property. The land value should be excluded from your calculations – you only need to insure for the value of your home's structure.

How do I choose a building insurance policy?

As always, best practice in choosing any financial product is to assess your needs, compare options and find an offer that aligns with both. 

For choosing building insurance, you should have the home valued to ensure you’re covered at the right level. You should also consider any extra events or elements of your property you might want covered. This could be additional flood cover if you live in a flood-prone area, or more coverage for your new garden and landscaping.

Then, you should get researching with Mozo’s comparison table above to find a policy which includes everything you need at a price you can afford. 

How can I reduce the cost of my building insurance?

There are several ways to get cheaper building insurance, without needing to reduce the level of cover you get. Some of these cost-saving moves you can make include:

Comparing and haggling. Always shop around at your policy renewal time to compare offers. Building insurance providers are just like other businesses and have discounts or incentives that can save you money. Even if you're happy with your current insurance company, it's a good idea to know what the competition is offering and see if you can use this to haggle a better deal for yourself.

Ensuring your property is secure. The more secure your property the lower your premium is likely to be. Put locks on doors and windows, make sure smoke alarms are in working order, and consider installing a security alarm or camera.

Making sure you are getting any relevant discounts. There are a heap of discounts which could be applied to your policy to reduce your premium if you’re eligible for them. 

This includes: 

• No claims discounts: If you have not made a claim in a set period of time, you can start to build up a no claims bonus or discount on your premium. If you’re looking to switch insurance companies, many providers will honour the discount provided by your current insurance provider if you can show evidence.

• Bundled products: You can often secure a discount if you have multiple products with the one insurance provider. If you are getting building insurance and also want contents insurance it could be cheaper to take out a combined policy with the one provider. Or you might consider getting your car insurance moved across at the same time to access a discount.

• Online application discounts: Some providers offering building insurance will apply a discount on your first year’s premium if you buy the policy online. 

• Loyalty discounts: If you stay with a building insurance provider for a certain number of years, a loyalty discount may kick in. This can often increase the longer you hold your policy.

How do I find the best building insurance?

If you’re on the lookout to find Australia’s best building insurance, a great place to begin is by checking out the winners in the Exceptional Value and Exceptional Quality categories. Our experts analysed the pricing and product data and determined these as the insurance policies bringing to the table the best price, range and features in the market.

Not all customers are in search of the same thing when it comes to building insurance, so it’s important to bear this in mind when comparing policies.

Building insurance FAQs

What is the difference between ‘sum insured’ and ‘total replacement’ cover?

While not many providers offer this, you might have the option to choose between ‘sum insured’ and ‘total replacement’ cover.

If you opt for sum insured you'll choose the amount of money you insure your home for, and your policy premium will be based on this amount. This is the maximum amount your insurance provider will pay to repair or rebuild your home. If you choose this option, it's vital to get an accurate idea of how much it will cost to repair or replace your home.

Total replacement cover, means just that. You don’t set a limit to the cover and the insurance company will pay no matter what the cost it is to repair or rebuild your home. Keep in mind, this kind of policy will likely come with a higher price tag.

How much does building insurance cost?

The cost for your building insurance policy will depend on a number of factors including where the property is located, the property size, it’s value and your insurance claims history. For example, insuring a house in a flood prone area will likely be more expensive than insuring somewhere else, and a larger house will come with a steeper price tag than a small one.

To get a personalised quote, first review the insurance policy information here on Mozo. We outline the key events and limits included in each policy to help you find one that looks right for you. Once you’ve compared your options you can get a quote directly from the insurance company for your property. They will also be able to answer any specific questions related to your property.

What is building insurance excess?

When you make a claim on your building insurance, you’re generally required to pay an amount before your insurance policy kicks in to cover the rest. This is called an ‘excess’. Excess levels can vary depending on your provider and policy, but it’ll generally be a set figure for a building insurance policy. 

For example, if you were to make a $10,000 building insurance claim and your excess was $800, the insurance provider would cover the remaining $9,200. If the bill only came to $500, it wouldn’t be worth claiming on your insurance as the excess covers the cost completely.

You can often opt for a lower excess, but this will generally result in a heightened premium cost. Similarly, choosing a higher excess can reduce the cost of your premium. 

Can I pay by the month for building insurance?  

Yes, many building insurance policies come with the option of paying insurance costs on a monthly basis. This can help you budget for the cost of insurance by spreading it out, rather than leaving you scrambling to come up with a lump sum payment. 

Keep in mind though, you might have to pay extra for the convenience of monthly payments, so factor that extra cost into your budget