What’s covered by renter’s insurance?

Your belongings

Cost to repair or replace (new for old) your lost or damaged contents, including furniture, whitegoods, appliances, clothing and personal effects.

Your legal liability for someone else’s death or bodily injury or for loss or damage to someone else’s property caused by an accident anywhere in Australia.

Temporary accommodation

Temporary accommodation for you and your pets if your rental property is unfit to live in due to loss or damage to the property or your contents. ||

Removal of debris

Removal and disposal of your damaged contents and storage of your undamaged ones during the time it takes to repair your rental property.

Replacement of locks

Replacement of locks or key codes if your keys are stolen, up to $1,000.

Contents temporarily removed

Loss or damage to contents after being temporarily removed – for 90 days or less – from your insured address.

Food

Spoilage of perishable food, up to $500.

Terms, conditions, limits and exclusions apply.

For full details, please read the Product Disclosure Statement.

Insured events

Budget Direct renter’s insurance covers your personal possessions against loss or damage caused by the following insured events:

  • Storm and rainwater (flood cover is optional)
  • Fire
  • Lightning
  • Theft (or attempted theft)
  • Escape of liquid (e.g. burst pipe)
  • Impact at property (e.g. fallen tree)
  • Breakage of glass, ceramic and sanitary fixtures
  • Malicious damage, vandalism, riot or civil commotion
  • Explosion
  • Earthquake or tsunami

Upgrade your cover

For an additional premium, you can customise your renter’s insurance by adding one or more of the following optional covers to your policy:

Flood Cover

Covers your belongings for loss or damage caused by flooding rivers, creeks, lakes, dams and other bodies of water.§

Personal Effects Cover

Insures the portable items (e.g. jewellery, sunglasses, camera) you take with you away from your home.

Accidental Damage

Standard cover includes breakage to glass, ceramic and sanitary fixtures that you’re legally responsible for; Accidental Damage extends this cover to most of your possessions.

Motor Burnout

In case a power surge burns out a motor in an electrical appliance you own (less than 10 years old); we’ll also pay for related spoilage of food.

Commercial Storage

Covers your contents for loss or damage while they’re stored in a commercial storage facility.

How do I add an optional cover to my policy?

You can add one or more of these covers when you get a quote and buy a policy or – if you’ve already bought a policy – by contacting us or logging into your online account and editing your policy.

How much cover do I need?

It’s up to you to determine how much it would cost to replace your belongings if they were totally destroyed, for example, by fire – the ‘sum insured’.

This is the maximum amount we’ll pay, so it’s important you’re comfortable the sum insured you nominate is sufficient to replace all of your possessions at today’s prices.

Use this calculator to help you estimate the cost of replacing your contents

Compare contents insurance savings

In comparison to their previous insurers’ premiums, customers across Australia who switched to Budget Direct Contents Only Insurance told us they saved an average of

$###

Use our Comparitron™ tool to compare home insurance savings reported by our customers.

†See what this figure is based on

Get a quote online and save 15%^

Getting a Budget Direct Contents Insurance quote is quick and easy.

Get a quote and buy a new policy online and you’ll save 15%^ on your first year’s premium.

Find out more

The information on this page is a summary only. For more details about Budget Direct Contents Insurance, including the terms, conditions, limits and exclusions that apply, please read the Product Disclosure Statement.

How to make a claim

If your belongings are lost, damaged or destroyed by an insured event and you need to make a claim, we’re here to help. Make a claim on your renter’s insurance policy.

Award-Winning Australian home insurance

After comparing the cost and features of 72 policies, from 50 other insurers, Canstar presented us with the National award for Outstanding Value Home & Contents Insurance for the seventh year in a row in 2023.

We’ve also won Money magazine’s Insurer of the Year title seven years running (2017–2023); Best of the Best title for Home & Contents Insurance (2022-2024); and Finder's 2023 Best Home Insurance - Value award.

Money Magazine's Insurer of the Year 2023
Money Magazine's Best of the Best Home & Contents Insurance 2024
CANSTAR's Insurer of the Year 2024
CANSTAR's Outstanding Value Home & Contents Insurance 2017 to 2023
Finder Awards 2023 Winner, Home Insurance — Value

Frequently asked questions

What does ‘contents’ insurance cover?

Among other things, a Budget Direct contents insurance policy covers loss or damage to:

  • furniture and furnishings
  • computers and electrical appliances
  • kitchenware
  • clothing and shoes
  • valuables like jewellery, sunglasses and cameras (if you want your portable items to be insured when you take them with you away from your home, you’ll need to get extra Personal Effects Cover).
  • fitted carpets and rugs
  • internal blinds, curtains and window coverings.

You can be covered for these things up to the amount of your contents sum insured.

Note that benefit limits apply to certain contents.

I'm a renter / tenant — do I need home insurance?

If you’re a renter or tenant, you do not have to worry about insuring the unit, apartment, flat, townhouse, detached or semi-detached house you’re living in – that’s your landlord’s responsibility.

However, if you want to be covered for the cost of repairing or replacing your belongings (e.g. furniture, whitegoods, electrical appliances, clothing, and personal effects), then you’ll need to get renter’s insurance.

I'm moving into a place with some housemates — will you insure me?

Yes — as long as you don’t share with more than two unrelated housemates.

Note that your policy would cover only the contents you own — not your housemates’ belongings.

Does home insurance cover valuables I take with me away from my home?

We offer Personal Effects cover as an optional extra to cover your portable contents. This can cover a wide range of categories of belongings, including:

  • bicycles
  • clothing
  • jewellery/watches
  • musical instruments
  • photographic equipment
  • sporting equipment
  • medical aids
  • mobile phones (Specified only)
  • laptops/tablets (Specified only)
  • e-scooters.

To find out how much this coverage might cost, you can get a quote online.

Is there a minimum amount of cover for home contents?

Yes – the minimum amount of cover we provide for home contents is $20,000.

|| Benefit capped at 10% of sum insured for up to a maximum period of 12 months, when your home is unliveable due to an insured event. Terms and conditions apply.
§ The addition of Flood Cover to a policy is subject to our underwriting criteria.
† {comparitron-disclaimer}

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