Private Client Home Insurance

About This Policy

This policy insures a private home of high value, the contents and valuables of the household that lives in it, the household's legal liability, and the household against the cost of a home invasion, a car-jacking, identity fraud and a cyber event.

The schedule shows which of the property sections apply and their sums insured. Personal Liability and Family Protection and Cyber apply to every policy.

The extensions are part of the section they appear in. Further cover, and the terms that apply to particular homes, are added by endorsement.

This policy, together with your schedule, your proposal and any endorsements shown in the schedule, forms your contract of insurance with us. Please read them together and tell us if anything is incorrect. Where the schedule and this wording differ, the schedule applies. Words with special meanings are listed in the Definitions section.

Version and Document History

This document is version-controlled. The version and date shown on the cover page and in the footer of each page govern this text. The version stated in your schedule as current at the start of the policy period applies for the whole policy period, unless your schedule or an endorsement states otherwise.

Important Information

Who issues this policy. The insurer, its Australian Financial Services Licence and its contact details are shown in the schedule. Where the insurer subscribes to the General Insurance Code of Practice, the schedule says so.

Who this policy is for. This wording is designed for retail clients who own a home of high value in Australia and live in it, or use it as a second home. It is sold through insurance brokers. An issuer using it must give a Product Disclosure Statement and make a Target Market Determination available, as the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) requires. This wording is not itself a Product Disclosure Statement.

Your duty when you apply. This policy is a consumer insurance contract under the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth). You have a duty to take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation to us before the policy is entered into, renewed, extended, varied or reinstated. Answer every question in the proposal honestly and completely. If you do not take reasonable care, we may reduce or refuse a claim, or cancel the policy, as that Act allows.

Terms that differ from standard cover. The Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) and the Insurance Contracts Regulations 2017 set standard cover for home building and home contents contracts. In most respects this policy gives more cover than standard cover. It gives less cover than standard cover in each of the ways listed here. They are listed so that you are clearly informed of each of them before this policy is entered into.

• flood is covered, but we do not pay for damage by storm or flood in the first 72 hours after this policy first starts, except as the Storm and Flood in the First 72 Hours exclusion allows;
• we do not pay for damage by erosion, subsidence or landslip except as the Earth Movement exclusion allows, or for damage by action of the sea (see the Action of the Sea exclusion);
• we do not pay to fix a defect, or for damage from gradual causes, insects, vermin or tree roots (see the Defects and Gradual Causes exclusion);
• cover is limited while the home is unoccupied for more than 100 days (see the Unoccupied Home exclusion);
• we do not pay for the matters listed in the Other Property Exclusions exclusion, including theft or deliberate damage by a member of your household, land, loss of market value, an order of a government or public authority, damage while property is being worked on, breakdown, and damage by an animal kept at the home;
• we do not pay for the matters listed in the Valuables Exclusions exclusion for valuables;
• we do not pay for loss, damage or liability caused deliberately by you, by a member of your household or by a person acting with your authority, or arising from illegal activity by you or a member of your household that you knew of or had reason to suspect (see the Deliberate Acts exclusion and the Illegal Activity exclusion);
• we do not pay for loss of, damage to or corruption of electronic data, or for loss from unauthorised use of a computer system, except as the Family Protection and Cyber section provides (see the Electronic Data and Computer Systems exclusion);
• we do not pay for loss, damage, liability or cost arising from terrorism, war or nuclear risks (see the Terrorism exclusion, the War exclusion and the Nuclear exclusion);
• we pay no more than the limits in the Limits for Some Contents provision for some contents, and no more than the category sums insured and item limits in The Most We Pay for Valuables provision for valuables;
• the extensions to each section are limited as each states;
• the excesses shown in the schedule apply to each claim under the property sections (see the Excess provision).

[WP REVIEW: confirm that this list, given before the policy is entered into, clearly informs the insured of each departure from standard cover under s.35 of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) and the Insurance Contracts Regulations 2017, which of the listed terms the Regulations permit (a term they do not permit is overridden by standard cover and must be removed or amended), whether the Valuables section is home contents cover for this purpose, and that the Key Facts Sheets match it.]

Key Facts Sheet. A Key Facts Sheet for the Home Building section and one for the Contents section are given with this policy, as the law requires.

Cooling-off period. You may cancel this policy within 21 days of the date it starts, and within 21 days of each renewal, by telling us in writing. If you have not made a claim, we will refund the full premium paid for that period, less any non-refundable government charges we cannot recover. After that, you may still cancel under the Cancellation condition.

Commission and fees. Your broker may be paid a commission by us, or may charge you a fee instead of or as well as a commission. The schedule or the quote shows any commission or fee paid to your broker in connection with this policy.

Financial Claims Scheme. If the schedule shows the insurer is an APRA-authorised general insurer, you may be entitled to a payment under the Financial Claims Scheme if the insurer becomes insolvent. Information is available at www.fcs.gov.au.

Schedule

(Completed separately for each policy. It contains your specific details.)

The schedule shows:

• Your name, and the name of anyone else insured; where the insured is a company or the trustee of a trust, the people who live in the home (see the E13 Company or Trust as Insured endorsement)
• The address of the home, and whether it is your main residence or a second home
• The policy period, with its start and end dates
• The sections that apply, with the building sum insured, the extended replacement percentage, the contents sum insured, each valuables category sum insured, and the unspecified item limit for each category
• Each specified item, with its category, description and agreed value
• The limit of liability, and the family protection and cyber limits where they differ from the defaults
• The basic excess, and any special excess for flood, storm, bushfire or cyclone
• The limits of the extensions, where they differ from the defaults stated in them
• Any interested party, such as a financier
• The premium, including stamp duty, any emergency services levy, and GST
• Any commission paid to your broker, or any fee your broker charges you
• The insurer and its licence, and the state or territory whose law governs this policy (see the Governing Law condition)
• The endorsements that apply, by code, with their variables

Definitions

In this policy, the words below have these meanings wherever they appear, whatever their capitalisation. The singular includes the plural.

Home Building

This section applies if the schedule shows it. The schedule shows the building sum insured, the extended replacement percentage and the basic excess.

Damage to the Building

If the building suffers damage during the policy period from any sudden and accidental cause, including fire, storm, flood, earthquake, escape of liquid, theft, malicious damage and impact, we will pay to repair or rebuild it, as set out in the How We Settle Building Claims provision.

This cover applies to damage from any sudden and accidental cause unless an exclusion in the Property Exclusions section or the General Exclusions section applies.

The most we will pay for any one event is the building sum insured together with any amount payable under the Extended Replacement provision, plus the amounts the extensions to this section say are payable in addition.

How We Settle Building Claims

Repair or rebuild. We pay the cost of repairing or rebuilding the damaged part of the building to a condition substantially the same as, but not better or more extensive than, its condition when new, using materials and methods of a quality equal to the original. Where the original materials or methods are no longer available, we use the nearest equivalent of equal quality. We do not deduct for wear, tear or depreciation.

Costs included. The cost of repairing or rebuilding includes the reasonable cost of demolishing and removing debris, the fees of architects, engineers, surveyors and other professionals needed to repair or rebuild, and the extra cost of complying with the building laws in force at the time of repair for the damaged part of the building.

Matching materials. If we cannot find materials that match the undamaged parts, we pay to replace the materials in the room or area where the damage happened, and in any adjoining area that can be seen together with it, so that the result reasonably matches.

How we arrange the work. You may choose the builder, as long as the builder is licensed for the work and the quote is reasonable. We may instead offer a builder we appoint, who guarantees the work for at least six years. We pay the builder directly or reimburse you as the work is done.

Cash settlement. You may choose to be paid instead of having the building repaired or rebuilt, as the Cash Settlement provision sets out.

No under-insurance penalty. We do not reduce a claim because the building sum insured is less than the full rebuilding cost. The Extended Replacement provision sets out what we pay above the building sum insured.

Extended Replacement

If the rebuilding cost after one event is more than the building sum insured, we pay the rebuilding cost up to the building sum insured plus the extended replacement percentage shown in the schedule (default 25%, or 50% where the E01 Extended Replacement 50% endorsement applies) of the building sum insured.

This applies if, when this policy started or was last renewed, the building sum insured was not less than the rebuilding cost stated in the most recent professional valuation you gave us, or in an estimate made with a rebuilding cost calculator we provided, and you told us of any building works since then that increased the rebuilding cost by more than 10%.

Where the E09 Building Valuation to Follow endorsement applies, extended replacement applies only as that endorsement states.

Cash Settlement

When we pay cash. If you ask us to, or if the law does not allow the building to be repaired or rebuilt, we pay you the amount set out below instead of repairing or rebuilding. We will not pay cash instead of repairing or rebuilding without your agreement, unless the law does not allow the repair or rebuilding.

How we work out the amount. The amount is the reasonable cost of repairing or rebuilding the damaged part of the building at the date we make the offer, as the How We Settle Building Claims provision sets out, worked out from a written scope of works and at least two quotes from licensed builders, or an estimate by a quantity surveyor. It includes the costs that provision says are included, and any amount payable under the Extended Replacement provision. We do not reduce it by any discount or rate that a builder we appoint would have given us.

What we give you. With the offer we give you in writing the scope of works, the quotes or estimate we relied on, how we worked out the amount, and any amount we deducted and why. You may give us your own quote or estimate, and we will consider it and tell you in writing whether we change the offer and why. You have at least 20 business days to consider the offer before it is withdrawn.

After you accept. Once we have paid the agreed amount, we have no further liability for the damage it settled, other than for temporary accommodation already payable under the Temporary Accommodation extension up to the date of payment.

[WP REVIEW: confirm this cash settlement position against ASIC's 2026 review of home insurance cash settlements (26-202MR) and the General Insurance Code of Practice, in particular the 20 business day period and the exclusion of builder discounts from the calculation.]

Temporary Accommodation

If damage covered by the Home Building section makes the home unfit to live in, we pay the reasonable cost of temporary accommodation of a similar standard for your household, your domestic workers who live at the home and your pets, and the reasonable cost of moving and storing your contents, until the home is fit to live in again.

The most we pay for any one event is 20% of the building sum insured, for up to 24 months, or the higher limit and period shown in the schedule. These limits are in addition to the building sum insured.

If the home is your second home, we pay instead the rent you lose, or the reasonable cost of comparable accommodation for the periods your household had planned to stay, within the same limits.

Emergency Repairs

After damage covered by this section, we pay the reasonable cost of emergency repairs, temporary fencing, boarding up, security guards and other measures needed to prevent further damage or to make the property safe, up to the limit shown in the schedule (default $25,000) for any one event. This amount is in addition to the building sum insured. Keep the invoices and photographs of the damage.

Keys and Locks

If a key, remote control or access code to an external door, gate, window lock or alarm of the home is stolen, or a lock is damaged, we pay the reasonable cost to replace or re-key the affected locks and to reprogram the remote controls and alarm, up to the limit shown in the schedule (default $5,000) for any one event. No excess applies. This amount is in addition to the building sum insured.

Landscaping

We pay the reasonable cost to replace trees, shrubs, plants, hedges and lawns at the home damaged by any sudden and accidental cause other than drought, frost, disease, insects or neglect, and to remove a fallen tree or branch that has damaged the building or blocks access to it, up to the limit shown in the schedule (default $50,000) for any one event, and $10,000 for any one tree. This amount is in addition to the building sum insured.

Fire and Emergency Services Charges

We pay any charge a fire or emergency service lawfully makes for attending the home because of damage covered by this section, up to the limit shown in the schedule (default $25,000) for any one event. This amount is in addition to the building sum insured.

Mortgage Discharge Costs

If the building is destroyed and we pay the building sum insured, we pay the reasonable legal costs of discharging a mortgage over the home, up to the limit shown in the schedule (default $10,000).

Motor Burnout

We pay to repair or replace an electric motor in the building or in your contents, including a motor in a pool pump, air conditioner, gate, lift, refrigerator or washing machine, that burns out during the policy period, if the motor is less than 15 years old. The most we pay for any one motor is the limit shown in the schedule (default $25,000), and the basic excess applies. We do not pay for a motor while the manufacturer's guarantee covers it.

Contents

This section applies if the schedule shows it. The schedule shows the contents sum insured and the basic excess.

Damage to Contents

If your contents suffer damage during the policy period from any sudden and accidental cause, we will repair or replace them, as set out in the How We Settle Contents Claims provision.

The cover applies at the home, and anywhere in the world while the contents are with a member of your household or are being moved by a professional removalist, unless an exclusion in the Property Exclusions section or the General Exclusions section applies.

The most we will pay for any one event is the contents sum insured, subject to the Limits for Some Contents provision, plus the amounts the extensions to this section say are payable in addition.

How We Settle Contents Claims

We pay the cost of repairing the damaged item, or of replacing it with a new item of the same kind and quality, whichever is less, or we pay you that amount. We do not deduct for wear, tear or depreciation. You may choose the repairer or supplier, as long as the cost is reasonable.

If an item that is part of a pair or set is damaged, we pay the reduction in the value of the pair or set caused by that damage, as the Pairs and Sets provision sets out.

We do not reduce a claim because the contents sum insured is less than the replacement value of all your contents.

Limits for Some Contents

For contents that are not valuables, the most we pay for any one event is:

The schedule may show different limits. Valuables are insured under the Valuables section up to the limits in The Most We Pay for Valuables provision, and not under these limits.

Contents in Storage and When Moving

We cover your contents for damage from any sudden and accidental cause while they are:

• at another home you are moving to, for 60 days after you start moving;
• at a residence where a dependent child of your household lives while studying, anywhere in the world, up to the limit shown in the schedule (default $25,000);
• in a locked room at a bank or commercial storage facility in Australia, up to 20% of the contents sum insured.

Spoiled Food and Medicine

We pay for food and medicine in a fridge, freezer or cool room at the home that spoils because the equipment breaks down, or because the electricity supply fails for more than 12 hours, up to the limit shown in the schedule (default $5,000) for any one event. No excess applies.

Guests' and Domestic Workers' Property

We cover property at the home owned by a visitor or a domestic worker, for damage from any sudden and accidental cause, up to the limit shown in the schedule (default $10,000) for any one event. The Other Insurance provision applies.

Accommodation Where Only Contents Are Insured

If the Home Building section does not apply and damage from a sudden and accidental cause makes the home unfit to live in, we pay the reasonable cost of temporary accommodation of a similar standard for your household, and of moving and storing your contents, until the home is fit to live in again or your tenancy ends, up to 20% of the contents sum insured, for up to 24 months. If you rent the home, we pay only the amount by which the temporary accommodation costs more than the rent you no longer have to pay.

Valuables

This section applies to each category for which the schedule shows a sum insured. The schedule shows each category sum insured, the unspecified item limit for each category, each specified item and the basic excess.

Damage to Valuables

If any of your valuables suffer damage during the policy period, in a place where the Where Valuables Are Covered clause says they are covered, we will pay for the damage as set out in the How We Settle Valuables Claims provision.

This cover applies to damage from any cause, including theft and disappearance that cannot be explained, unless an exclusion in the Property Exclusions section or the General Exclusions section applies. The most we pay is set out in The Most We Pay for Valuables provision.

Where Valuables Are Covered

Each category is covered in the places shown in this table.

The schedule may show wider places of cover for a category.

How We Settle Valuables Claims

Specified items. If a specified item is lost, stolen or damaged beyond economic repair, we pay you its agreed value. With your agreement, we may replace it instead. If it can be repaired economically, we pay the reasonable cost of repair by a repairer or restorer that you and we agree on, and you may not unreasonably withhold your agreement. The Loss in Value After Repair extension may also apply.

Unspecified items. For an unspecified item, we may repair it, replace it with an item of the same kind and quality, or pay you what it would cost to do so. We choose the option that costs least, and we do not deduct for wear, tear or depreciation. The most we pay for any one unspecified item is the unspecified item limit shown in the schedule for its category (default $25,000).

No reduction for underinsurance. We do not reduce a claim because a category sum insured is less than the value of the items in that category. The limits in The Most We Pay for Valuables provision still apply.

The Most We Pay for Valuables

For any one event, after deducting the excess, the most we pay is:

• for a specified item, its agreed value, together with any amount payable under the Loss in Value After Repair extension within the limit that extension sets;
• for an unspecified item, the unspecified item limit for its category; and
• for all items in a category, the category sum insured.

The amounts payable under the New Acquisitions extension are in addition to these limits, up to the amount that extension sets.

Pairs and Sets

If an item that is part of a pair or set suffers damage, we pay the reduction in the value of the pair or set caused by that damage.

If you prefer, you may give us the undamaged items in the pair or set, and we will then pay the value of the whole pair or set. For a specified item, that value is its agreed value. For unspecified valuables, the pair or set counts as one item and the unspecified item limit applies to it. For contents, the limits in the Limits for Some Contents provision apply to it.

Loss in Value After Repair

If a specified item of fine art, or of antiques and decorative arts, is repaired after damage covered by this policy, and the item is then worth less than its agreed value because of the damage, we also pay the difference between its agreed value and its value after repair.

The value after repair is agreed between you and us. If we cannot agree, it is set by a professional valuation obtained by us at our cost from a valuer you have agreed to, and you may not unreasonably withhold your agreement.

The most we pay for the repair and the loss in value together is the agreed value of the item.

New Acquisitions

Valuables you acquire during the policy period in a category you insure are covered from when you acquire them for 60 days, up to 25% of that category sum insured, in addition to it. Tell us about them within 60 days if you want them to stay insured, and we will charge any additional premium from the date you acquired them.

Property Exclusions

These exclusions apply to the Home Building, Contents and Valuables sections.

Storm and Flood in the First 72 Hours

We do not pay for damage by storm or flood that happens in the first 72 hours after this policy first starts. This exclusion does not apply if this policy started immediately after another policy covering the home for storm and flood expired without a break, or if you bought the home within 72 hours before this policy started.

Defects and Gradual Causes

We do not pay for:

• the cost of fixing a defect in the design, workmanship or materials of the building;
• wear and tear, rust, corrosion, rot, mould, mildew or gradual deterioration;
• damage that happens gradually over time, including from water or moisture seeping, leaking or condensing over a period, unless you did not know of it and could not reasonably have known of it;
• damage caused by insects, vermin or tree roots.

We do pay for damage to other parts of the building, and to contents and valuables, that results suddenly and accidentally from a defect or from one of these causes, for example a ceiling that collapses because a pipe bursts.

Earth Movement

We do not pay for damage caused by erosion, subsidence, settling, shrinkage, expansion, landslide, landslip, mudslide or other movement of the earth. We do pay for such damage if it happens within 72 hours of, and as a direct result of, an earthquake, a storm, a flood, the escape of liquid from a pipe or tank, or an explosion.

Action of the Sea

We do not pay for damage caused by action of the sea, unless the schedule shows that it is covered.

Unoccupied Home

If the home has been unoccupied for more than 100 consecutive days, we pay for damage that happens after that only if it is caused by fire, lightning, explosion, earthquake or impact, unless the E07 Unoccupied Home endorsement applies. Cover is restored when a member of your household returns to live in or stay at the home.

Other Property Exclusions

Under the Home Building, Contents and Valuables sections, we do not pay for:

• theft by, or damage caused deliberately by, a member of your household, or by a person at the home with your permission other than a tradesperson or a domestic worker;
• land, or the cost of stabilising or improving land;
• loss of market value, other than as the Loss in Value After Repair extension provides;
• damage to a retaining wall that is not built to the standard of the building laws in force when it was built;
• damage by water entering the building through an opening made for building works;
• damage caused by a lawful order or action of a government or public authority, other than to prevent the spread of fire or other damage;
• damage to property while it is being worked on, cleaned, restored or repaired, if the damage results from the work, other than damage by fire or theft;
• mechanical, electrical or electronic breakdown, other than as the Motor Burnout extension provides, or damage that results suddenly and accidentally from it;
• damage by an animal kept at the home, other than damage that is sudden and is not caused by chewing, scratching, pecking or soiling.

The Joint Insureds condition applies to the first exclusion in this list.

Valuables Exclusions

Under the Valuables section, we do not pay for:

• breakage of a fragile item while it is being moved, unless it was packed by a professional packer, or the breakage is caused by fire, theft, or an accident to the vehicle carrying it;
• theft of an item left in an unattended vehicle, unless the vehicle was locked and the item was out of sight;
• wine or spirits spoiled by a change in temperature, unless the change is caused by sudden damage to the cellar or its equipment from an external cause;
• wear of strings, reeds, skins or bows of musical instruments;
• an item that is confiscated, or that you must give up because another person proves a better title to it.

Personal Liability

This section applies to every policy. The schedule shows the limit of liability.

Personal Liability

We will pay the amount a member of your household becomes legally liable to pay as compensation for personal injury or property damage that happens during the policy period anywhere in the world, caused by an occurrence:

• at the home, in connection with your ownership or occupation of it; or
• anywhere else, in connection with the personal activities of a member of your household.

Where you are a company or the trustee of a trust, we also pay the amount you become legally liable to pay as owner of the home.

Domestic workers. We pay the amount you become legally liable to pay for personal injury to a domestic worker arising from their work at the home, where no workers compensation law requires you to insure that liability.

Limit. The most we pay for all compensation arising from one occurrence is the limit of liability shown in the schedule (default $20,000,000). All personal injury and property damage arising from one source or original cause is one occurrence.

Defence costs. In addition to the limit, we pay the reasonable legal costs we incur or approve in defending or settling a claim covered by this section, and interest on a judgment up to the date we pay or offer to pay it.

Settlement. We may take over and conduct the defence or settlement of any claim in your name. We may at any time pay you the limit, less any amount already paid, and then we have no further obligation for that occurrence except for defence costs already incurred.

Courts outside Australia. For a claim brought in a court in the United States of America or Canada, defence costs are included within the limit, not in addition to it.

Injury to the Household

We do not pay for personal injury to a member of your household, or damage to property owned by, or in the care or control of, a member of your household.

Workers Compensation

We do not pay for personal injury to a person employed by you that arises out of their employment, where you are required by law to insure that liability under a workers compensation scheme, or would be but for an exemption.

Contractual Liability

We do not pay for liability you agreed to under a contract, to the extent it is more than the liability you would have had without the contract.

Vehicles, Aircraft and Watercraft

We do not pay for liability arising from the use of a vehicle that is registered or required to be registered, of an aircraft or a drone weighing more than 2 kilograms, or of a watercraft longer than 8 metres. This exclusion does not apply to a ride-on mower, mobility scooter, or e-bike that does not need registration.

Pollution

We do not pay for liability arising from the discharge, dispersal or escape of pollutants, unless it is sudden, identifiable, unintended and unexpected, and happens at a specific time and place during the policy period.

Asbestos

We do not pay for liability arising from asbestos, or from any material containing asbestos.

Business and Letting

We do not pay for liability arising from a business, trade or profession of a member of your household, or from letting the home or any part of it, unless the E08 Short-Stay Letting endorsement applies to that letting.

Fines and Penalties

We do not pay fines, penalties, or punitive, exemplary or aggravated damages.

Family Protection and Cyber

This section applies to every policy. The schedule shows the family protection limit and the cyber limit where they differ from the defaults.

Home Invasion and Car-Jacking

If a member of your household suffers a home invasion or a car-jacking during the policy period, we pay the reasonable cost of:

• counselling for members of your household by a registered psychologist or psychiatrist;
• temporary accommodation of a similar standard for your household for up to 30 days, if they choose not to stay at the home;
• replacing locks and improving the security of the home or vehicle on the advice of a security consultant;
• medical expenses not recoverable from Medicare, a health insurer or a compulsory third party scheme.

The most we pay for any one home invasion or car-jacking is the family protection limit shown in the schedule (default $50,000). No excess applies.

Identity Fraud and Cyber Events

Identity fraud. If a member of your household discovers during the policy period that a person has used their personal information without permission to obtain money, credit, goods or services, we pay the reasonable cost of restoring their identity and credit record, including legal costs, the cost of replacing identity documents, and their lost wages for time off work to do so.

Cyber events. If a member of your household discovers a cyber event during the policy period, we pay:

• the reasonable cost of an information technology specialist to remove malicious software, and to restore data and software on the devices and accounts affected, to their condition before the cyber event;
• the reasonable cost of a specialist to respond to a threat of the kind described in the definition of cyber event, and to remove the household's personal information from websites where it was published without permission;
• money taken from a personal bank account, credit card or digital wallet of a member of your household by an unauthorised electronic transfer, or transferred because of a deception, that the bank or other financial institution does not repay.

Limit. The most we pay under this clause for all identity fraud and cyber events discovered in one policy period is the cyber limit shown in the schedule (default $50,000), and $25,000 of that for money taken or transferred. No excess applies.

Family Protection and Cyber Exclusions

Under the Family Protection and Cyber section, we do not pay:

• a ransom or extortion payment, or the value of property handed over in response to a threat;
• for a home invasion, car-jacking, identity fraud or cyber event carried out by, or with the involvement of, a member of your household;
• for loss of money or data of a business, or of a device used mainly for a business;
• for money taken or transferred, unless it was reported to the bank or financial institution, and to the police, within 48 hours of its discovery.

The Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) condition applies to the last exclusion in this list.

Payment Provisions for Every Section

This applies to every section.

Excess

You pay the basic excess shown in the schedule for each event that gives rise to a claim under the Home Building, Contents or Valuables sections. If one event gives rise to claims under more than one of those sections, only one basic excess is deducted.

The schedule may show a special excess for damage by flood, storm, bushfire or cyclone (see the E02 High Hazard Zone endorsement, the E03 Bushfire-Prone Home endorsement and the E04 Northern Australia endorsement). Where a special excess applies to the damage, it replaces the basic excess. No excess applies to the Personal Liability or Family Protection and Cyber sections, or where an extension says that no excess applies.

If the building is destroyed and we pay the building sum insured, no excess applies to that claim.

GST in Claims

Where you are entitled to an input tax credit for the GST on the cost of a repair or replacement, we pay the claim net of that credit. Each sum insured and limit in this policy includes GST to the extent you are not entitled to an input tax credit for it.

Other Insurance

If a loss covered by this policy is also covered by another insurance policy, we will not refuse or reduce our payment because of that other insurance. We may seek contribution from the other insurer as the law allows. This does not apply where the schedule or an endorsement states that this policy is excess of a specified underlying policy, in which case this policy pays only after the limit of that specified policy is exhausted.

Who We Pay

We pay you, or as you direct. Where an interested party is shown in the schedule, we pay as the schedule requires. We may pay a repairer, builder or supplier directly.

General Exclusions

These exclusions apply to every section.

Deliberate Acts

We do not pay for any loss, damage or liability caused deliberately by you, by a member of your household, or by a person acting with your authority. The Joint Insureds condition applies.

Illegal Activity

We do not pay for any loss, damage or liability arising from illegal activity at the home by you or by a member of your household, that you knew of, or had reason to suspect, and did not take reasonable steps to stop. Illegal activity by someone else, such as a burglar, does not affect your cover. The Joint Insureds condition applies.

War

We do not pay for any loss, damage, liability or cost arising from war, invasion, act of foreign enemy, hostilities or warlike operations (whether war is declared or not), civil war, rebellion, revolution, insurrection, military or usurped power, or confiscation by a government or public authority.

Nuclear

We do not pay for any loss, damage, liability or cost arising from ionising radiation, contamination by radioactivity from nuclear fuel or waste, or nuclear weapons material.

Terrorism

We do not pay for any loss, damage, liability or cost arising from an act of terrorism, meaning an act, including the use of force or violence or the threat of it, by any person or group, committed for political, religious, ideological or similar purposes, including the intention to influence a government or to put the public in fear. This exclusion does not apply to the extent the Terrorism Insurance Act 2003 (Cth) requires cover to be provided.

Electronic Data and Computer Systems

Except under the Family Protection and Cyber section, we do not pay for loss of, damage to or corruption of electronic data, or for loss arising from unauthorised use of a computer system, other than physical damage to the building, contents or valuables by a resulting fire or explosion. Unauthorised use means use of a computer system by a person not permitted by its owner to use it.

Your Obligations

These obligations apply to every section. If you do not meet one, the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) condition applies, and we may reduce a claim only as it allows.

Tell Us About Claims

Tell us as soon as reasonably practicable after damage, an occurrence, a home invasion, a car-jacking, identity fraud or a cyber event that may lead to a claim, and tell the police promptly about any theft, malicious damage, home invasion or car-jacking.

Give us the information and documents we reasonably ask for to assess the claim, including proof of ownership or value for contents and valuables, and allow us to inspect the damaged property before it is repaired, unless emergency repairs are needed under the Emergency Repairs extension.

Reduce the Loss

Take reasonable steps to prevent further damage or loss, keep the property in a reasonable state of repair, and keep damaged property and evidence until we have had a reasonable opportunity to inspect it.

Admissions and Co-operation

Do not admit liability for, or agree to settle, a claim under the Personal Liability section without our written agreement, which we will not unreasonably withhold. Co-operate with us in the defence of the claim.

Tell Us About Changes

Tell us during the policy period, as soon as reasonably practicable, if:

• the home will be unoccupied for more than 100 consecutive days;
• you start or plan building works costing more than $250,000, or works that affect the structure of the building;
• you let the home, or any part of it, or start using it mainly for a business;
• you acquire valuables that you want to insure, beyond the cover the New Acquisitions extension gives;
• you move.

We will tell you whether the change affects your cover or premium.

Records and Valuations

Keep a professional valuation, or a receipt from the seller, for each specified item whose agreed value is $10,000 or more, or the higher amount shown in the schedule, and a photograph of each specified item. Give them to us if we ask.

We recommend a new professional valuation of each specified item, and of the rebuilding cost of the building, at least every three years. If you give us one, we will update the agreed value or the building sum insured when we next issue a schedule, and adjust the premium for the rest of the policy period.

Recovery From Others

After we pay a claim, we may take over your rights to recover the amount from anyone else, and act in your name. Help us do so, at our cost. We will not exercise a right of recovery against a member of your household, a domestic worker or a guest, unless they caused the loss deliberately.

General Conditions

These conditions apply to every section.

Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth)

Nothing in this policy excludes, restricts or modifies the operation of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth). Where this policy is inconsistent with the Act, the Act prevails.

If this policy would otherwise let us refuse to pay a claim, in whole or in part, because of something you did or did not do after this policy was entered into, section 54 of the Act applies. We may not refuse to pay the claim only because of that act or omission. Our liability is reduced by the amount that fairly represents the extent to which our interests were prejudiced. Where the act or omission could reasonably be regarded as capable of causing or contributing to the loss, we may refuse to pay only the part of the claim that the act or omission caused or contributed to. We may not refuse any part that you prove the act or omission did not cause. This applies to every condition, exclusion, limit, obligation and endorsement in this policy, not only to the claims conditions.

Joint Insureds

Where more than one person, company or trustee is named in the schedule as the insured, this policy applies to each of them separately.

A fraud, deliberate act, illegal activity or failure to comply with this policy by one of them, or by a member of your household who is not named as an insured, does not affect the cover of any named insured who did not know of it, did not take part in it and did not consent to it.

Cancellation

You may cancel this policy at any time by telling us. If you cancel within the cooling-off period in the Important Information section, we refund the premium as that section states. Otherwise we refund the premium for the unexpired policy period on a pro-rata basis, less any non-refundable government charges. If we have paid a total loss of the building, or of an item of contents or valuables, no refund applies to that building or item.

We may cancel this policy only as the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) allows, by giving you written notice as that Act requires, which is at least 30 days' written notice or any longer notice the Act requires. We refund the premium for the unexpired policy period on a pro-rata basis. [WP REVIEW: confirm the notice an insurer must give to cancel a home building and contents contract, including whether s 60 of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) applies as well as s 59.]

Cancellation does not affect a claim for damage, an occurrence or an event that happened before cancellation.

Renewal

Each renewal is a new contract. Before this policy ends, we will tell you whether we offer to renew it and on what terms, as s.58 of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) requires. We are not obliged to offer renewal.

Fraudulent Claims

If a claim is made fraudulently, we may refuse to pay it, as s.56 of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) allows.

Sanctions

We do not provide cover, pay any claim or provide any benefit under this policy to the extent that doing so would expose us to any sanction, prohibition or restriction under:

• the Autonomous Sanctions Act 2011 (Cth), the Charter of the United Nations Act 1945 (Cth), or regulations made under either Act; or
• the trade or economic sanctions laws of the United Kingdom, the United States of America or the European Union, to the extent they apply to us.

[WP REVIEW: confirm that naming the UK, US and EU regimes is appropriate for Australian capacity; this is a deliberate library-wide scope choice.]

GST

The premium includes GST where it applies, under A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (Cth). Claims are paid as the GST in Claims provision sets out. Tell us your entitlement to input tax credits when you make a claim.

Privacy

We collect, use and disclose personal information about you and your household to assess the proposal, administer this policy and manage claims, in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and our privacy policy. Our privacy policy explains how a person can access and correct their information and how to complain about a privacy matter.

Complaints and Disputes

If you are unhappy with our service or a decision, contact us at the details in the schedule. We will acknowledge the complaint within one business day and give our decision within 30 calendar days.

If you are not satisfied with our response, or we have not responded within 30 calendar days, you may take the complaint to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), a free and independent dispute resolution service: www.afca.org.au, 1800 931 678, info@afca.org.au.

Governing Law

This policy is governed by the law of the Australian state or territory in which the home is located.

Jurisdiction

You and we submit to the jurisdiction of the courts of the state or territory whose law governs this policy, and of any court that may hear appeals from them.

Headings and References

Headings are for convenience only. A reference to legislation includes any legislation that amends or replaces it. A reference to a clause by its heading is a reference to that clause as it appears in this wording.

How to Make a Claim

1. Make the home and everyone in it safe, and arrange emergency repairs if needed (see the Emergency Repairs extension).
2. Contact your broker, or contact us directly at the details shown in the schedule.
3. Tell the police about any theft, malicious damage, home invasion or car-jacking, and get the report number. For money taken or transferred, tell your bank at once.
4. Tell us what happened and when, and give us photographs, receipts, valuations, quotes and invoices.
5. If the home is unfit to live in, tell us straight away so that we can arrange temporary accommodation.
6. We will acknowledge your claim, keep you informed, and tell you our decision as the General Insurance Code of Practice requires where the insurer subscribes to it.

Endorsement Library

An endorsement applies only if its code is shown in the schedule. Each endorsement changes this policy only as it states, and is read together with the variables shown for it in the schedule. Where an endorsement and the rest of this policy conflict, the endorsement applies to the extent of the conflict. If a variable an endorsement needs is not shown in the schedule, the default stated in the endorsement applies; if it has no default, the endorsement does not apply until we show the variable in the schedule.

E01 Extended Replacement 50%

The extended replacement percentage in the Extended Replacement provision is 50% of the building sum insured, in place of 25%. Every other term of that provision applies.

Schedule variables: none.

E02 High Hazard Zone

The home is in a high natural hazard zone for flood or storm. For damage caused by flood or storm, the special excess shown in the schedule for this endorsement applies in place of the basic excess. Flood and storm remain covered.

Schedule variables: flood and storm excess (no default).

E03 Bushfire-Prone Home

The home is on land with the bushfire attack level shown in the schedule for this endorsement. For damage caused by bushfire, the special excess shown in the schedule for this endorsement applies in place of the basic excess.

Keep gutters clear of leaves, and keep the land within 20 metres of the building clear of dead vegetation and stored fuel, as the bushfire authority for the area recommends. This is not a condition of cover: the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) condition applies, and we may reduce a claim only to the extent that not doing so caused or added to the damage.

Schedule variables: bushfire attack level; bushfire excess (no default).

E04 Northern Australia

The home is north of the 26th parallel of latitude, or in the Northern Territory. For damage caused by a cyclone, or by storm, flood or action of the sea within 48 hours after a cyclone, the cyclone excess shown in the schedule for this endorsement applies in place of the basic excess. Action of the sea following a cyclone is covered.

Schedule variables: cyclone excess (no default).

E05 Heritage-Listed Home

The building is listed on a heritage register. We pay the extra cost of repairing or rebuilding heritage features using the methods, materials and trades the heritage authority requires, up to the heritage limit shown in the schedule for this endorsement, in addition to the building sum insured and any extended replacement.

Schedule variables: heritage limit (default 20% of the building sum insured).

E06 Building Works

Building works described in the schedule for this endorsement may be carried out at the home. The Unoccupied Home exclusion does not apply while the works are under way and a builder licensed for them is responsible for the site. We do not pay for damage to the works themselves, to materials not yet fixed to the building, or for damage that results from the works. When the works are finished, tell us the new rebuilding cost.

Schedule variables: description and contract value of the works; expected completion date.

E07 Unoccupied Home

The Unoccupied Home exclusion does not apply until the date shown in the schedule for this endorsement, provided someone inspects the home at least every 14 days, the alarm is set and monitored, and the home is kept secure.

Schedule variables: date cover for unoccupancy ends (no default).

E08 Short-Stay Letting

You may let the home, or part of it, for stays of less than three months while your household is away, for up to the number of nights a year shown in the schedule for this endorsement. Theft and malicious damage by a guest are covered, subject to the special excess shown in the schedule for this endorsement, and the Business and Letting exclusion does not apply to that letting. Valuables are not covered while a guest is staying, unless they are kept in a locked safe or a vault.

Schedule variables: nights a year (default 60); special excess (default $5,000).

E09 Building Valuation to Follow

You have not given us a professional valuation of the rebuilding cost of the building dated within the three years before this policy started. Until you do, the Extended Replacement provision applies with an extended replacement percentage of 10%.

Give us a professional valuation within the number of days after this policy starts shown in the schedule for this endorsement. When you do, the extended replacement percentage shown in the schedule applies from the date of the valuation, and we will adjust the building sum insured and the premium if the valuation shows a different rebuilding cost.

Schedule variables: days to give the valuation (default 90).

E10 Vault Storage

Jewellery and watches in a vault are covered while in the vault named in the schedule for this endorsement. They are also covered anywhere in the world while out of the vault for up to the number of days in each policy period shown in the schedule for this endorsement. Outside those days, an item out of the vault is covered as jewellery and watches only if that category is insured, and within its category sum insured.

Schedule variables: name and address of the vault; days out of the vault (default 30).

E11 Jewellery Kept in a Safe

When it is not being worn, and no member of your household is at the home, keep each item of jewellery and each watch with a value of more than the amount shown in the schedule for this endorsement in a locked safe at the home or in a vault. This is not a condition of cover: the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) condition applies, and we may reduce a claim for theft only to the extent that the item not being in a safe or vault caused or added to the loss.

Schedule variables: value above which an item is kept in a safe (default $25,000).

E12 Item Valuations to Follow

For each specified item listed in the schedule for this endorsement, you have not yet given us a professional valuation or a receipt dated within the last three years. Until you do, the most we pay for that item is the lower of its agreed value and the amount shown in the schedule for this endorsement.

Give us the valuation or receipt within the number of days after this policy starts shown in the schedule for this endorsement. When you do, this endorsement stops applying to that item.

Schedule variables: items; amount payable until valuation (default $10,000); days to give the valuation (default 60).

E13 Company or Trust as Insured

You are a company, or the trustee of a trust, that owns the home. The people named in the schedule for this endorsement live in the home, and they and their households are the household for this policy. They are insured for their own contents, valuables and personal liability as if each of them were named as an insured, and the Joint Insureds condition applies to them.

[WP REVIEW: confirm whether a policy issued to a company or a trustee for a home lived in by individuals is a retail product under s.761G(5) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), and whether the occupants' cover makes it one in any case.]

Schedule variables: names of the people who live in the home.

E14 Interested Party

The interest of the party named in the schedule for this endorsement is noted. Noting an interest does not make that party an insured and gives it no right to claim, but we will tell it if this policy is cancelled, if you agree that we may do so.

Schedule variables: interested party name and interest.

E15 Lloyd's Underwriters

This policy is underwritten by the Lloyd's underwriters named in the schedule. Each underwriter is liable only for its own share, and not for the share of any other underwriter.

The underwriters agree that any dispute about this policy may be heard by a court of competent jurisdiction in Australia, and that the Lloyd's General Representative in Australia named in the schedule may accept service of process for them. Complaints may also be made to Lloyd's Australia at the details shown in the schedule, as well as under the Complaints and Disputes condition.

Schedule variables: underwriters and their shares; Lloyd's General Representative; Lloyd's complaints contact.

Licence and Trademark Notice

This wording's text is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). The licence applies to the wording text only. It does not extend to, and no licence is granted in, the "Meridian" name, the Cuttleflow Systems name, logo, bearing mark, or any other trademark, trade dress, or brand asset, all of which remain the property of their respective owners and may not be used without separate permission.

An adopting insurer's own schedule, proposal, endorsements and other materials prepared for use with this wording are not required to be released under CC BY 4.0 merely because they are used together with this wording; CC BY 4.0 requires only that you attribute the wording text you use.

This wording is provided for general use and adaptation. Adopting insurers and their advisers are responsible for obtaining their own legal, regulatory, and reinsurance advice before use, including on the Product Disclosure Statement, Key Facts Sheets and Target Market Determination. Use of this wording requires the approval of the relevant capacity provider. Any Wording Partner review and sign-off letter issued in respect of this wording runs to Cuttleflow Pty Ltd t/a Cuttleflow Systems only and does not constitute legal advice to any adopting insurer or insured.

Designed for the Australian market. Assumes application of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth). Users are responsible for their own legal review, regulatory compliance, and reinsurance alignment.