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Holiday home insurance

There are two holiday home insurance options — the one you need depends on whether you're renting it out or keeping it all to yourself.

My holiday home is all mine Check out home insurance
I’m renting out my holiday home Check out landlord insurance

Finding holiday home insurance is easy. If you want to keep your holiday home to yourself, a home and contents insurance policy is the way to go. Just make sure to tell your provider if the place will be unoccupied for more than 60 days or you risk having your policy voided.

If you plan on renting out your place for longer than 90 days, you'll need to look for a policy like landlord insurance. For short stays like Airbnb, your best option is probably to go with a holiday let insurer like ShareCover.

Option 1: Holiday home insurance for your place

If you have a holiday home that you use for vacations and weekend getaways, you want to make sure it's properly looked after for when you're there and when you're not around. To do that, you'll need home insurance.

There's often one big difference between getting insurance for the house you're in most of the time and a holiday home — if you don't visit it for an extended period of time, it'll be considered unoccupied by the insurer. When this happens the insurer will usually either make you pay an additional excess (if you need to make a claim) or cancel your policy. This is generally around 60 days, but it can vary between insurers, so be sure to check when you're looking for holiday home insurance. Ask when you are buying a policy and you'll find that in many cases, you should be able to extend this date if you need to.

What are the benefits of getting holiday home insurance in Australia?

Holiday home insurance provides peace of mind. It can ensure that you're financially covered for the following:

  • Storm and rainwater damage
  • Fire damage
  • Theft (or attempted theft)
  • Escape of liquid (e.g. a burst pipe, especially important if you're not home)
  • Lightning
  • Impact at home (e.g a tree falls on your property)
  • Breakage of glass and other fixtures
  • Malicious damage, vandalism
  • Earthquake or tsunami
  • Furniture, furnishings and kitchenware
  • Computers and electrical appliances
  • Clothing
  • Other valuables including jewellery, sunglasses and cameras
  • Blinds, curtains, fitted carpets and rugs

Here's your holiday home insurance comparison

Remember: These policies are for people who own holiday homes for personal use only.
Name Product Building Cover Contents Cover Fire, Storm & Theft Damage Sum Insured Safeguard Online Discount Cheapest way to pay
Finder AwardBonus
Budget Direct Home & Contents Insurance
Optional
Annually
Our verdict: The most popular insurer on Finder, Budget Direct prioritises low-cost cover and gives you up to 30% off your first year for new combined policies purchased online. This is a big reason it won this year’s Finder Award for value.
Best Rated Brand
Youi Building and Contents Insurance
Annually
Our verdict: Finder’s 2022 Insurer of the Year for Customer Satisfaction and our Top Pick for Fire Damage cover. It’s good if you want a tailored quote over the phone.
Green CompanyBonus
QBE Home & Contents Insurance
Annually
Our verdict: Finder's Top Pick for Floods plus cover for other common claims such as fire and theft). Its discount is better than most – 20% off your first year with a combined policy.
Finder AwardBonus
Honey Home & Contents Insurance
Monthly or Annually
Our verdict: Honey gives you $250 smart sensors to reduce accidents and estimates your rebuild costs for you. Honey was a finalist for the comprehensive category in this year’s Finder Awards.
Bonus
Seniors Top Home & Contents Insurance
Annually
Our verdict: Get up to 20% off when you buy a combined home and contents policy. Terms, conditions, underwriting criteria and minimum premiums apply, which may reduce discount. Make sure your rebuild costs are accurate though – Australian Seniors don’t do underinsurance cover.
Bonus
Kogan Home & Contents Insurance
Annually
Our verdict: Good comprehensive cover (issued by QBE). Also, get 22% off on your first year's premium when you purchase a new combined Home & Contents insurance policy online + $10 monthly credit. T&Cs apply.
BonusFinder Award Finalist
Qantas Home and Contents Insurance
Optional
Annually
Our verdict: Earn up to 30,000 Qantas Points with every Qantas Home Insurance policy you take out by 7 February. T&Cs and exclusions apply.
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What's not included?

It's important to know what's not included when you buy home insurance for your holiday home.

  • Renting out your holiday home. If you want to rent out your holiday home, a home and contents insurance policy won't cover you. You would need landlord insurance, and even then, most policies will only cover you if you're renting out for longer than 90 days.
  • Failing to keep your home in a lived-in state. This might seem like a strange one, but it's for security purposes. If your house appears unkempt, for example the grass isn't mowed and the mailbox is full, it lets burglars know that nobody is home. Keep it tidy and any claims you make during this period won't be refused.
  • Upsizing. If you renovate your holiday home, or add value to the property by making changes, make sure you adjust your cover accordingly. Otherwise those new additions might not be covered.
  • Not looking after things. It might not be your main home, but you need to keep on top of your simple repairs. Insurers will expect you to fix leaks, holes and anything that might come under general wear and tear.

Option 2: Looking for something like Airbnb insurance?

If you want to rent out your holiday home, you generally have two options:

  • Landlord insurance. Suitable for people who want to rent out their holiday home for longer than 90 days at a time.
  • Holiday let insurance. Suitable for short stays like Airbnb or Stayz.

What's covered under these policies?

These types of insurance are a little like extensions for your standard home and contents cover. With it, you can be covered against:

  • Malicious and accidental damage caused by tenants and their guests
  • Theft by tenants and their guests
  • Loss of rental income if a tenant defaults on payment
  • Loss of rental income if your property is left uninhabitable following damage
  • Loss of rental income if something happens to the tenant so that they are unable to pay
  • Changing keys and locks if a tenant doesn't return the keys
  • Loss of rental income if your property is left inaccessible and unrentable for reasons beyond your control
  • Legal expenses incurred while taking certain actions against tenants
  • Legal liability, such as if guests slip and fall, die, or otherwise hold you legally liable for their injury, death or property damage
  • Damage to property contents that have been provided for guest use

Find a policy that's right for you

Because short term holiday lets like Airbnb are still relatively new, there are very few insurance providers that offer short-term rental insurance. Two of them are: Terri Scheer and ShareCover. They can provide you with insurance similar to what you'd get with landlord cover but for short term stays.

If you know that you'll be renting out your holiday home for 90 days or longer, these are the providers offering landlord insurance:

Name Product Tenant Default and Damage Loss of Rent Accidental Damage Sum Insured Safeguard Cooling-off Period Cheapest way to pay
Budget Direct Landlord Home & Contents Insurance

Optional

10% of the sum insured amount of your property
Optional
21 days
Annually
Save 30% on your first year's premium when you buy a combined home and contents policy online. T&Cs apply.
Youi Landlord Building and Contents Insurance

Optional

The reasonable rental amount for up to 12 months
20 days
Annually
Cover for investment property from fire, theft and numerous weather events.
QBE Landlord Home & Contents Insurance
The lesser of: Up to 24 months of lost rent, or 20% of your sum insured amount
21 days
Annually
Get 10% off for buying a combined policy, plus an additional 10% in the first year for signing up online. T&Cs apply.
Seniors Landlords Building & Contents Insurance
The lesser of: 12 months rent, or 10% of your building sum insured, or the lost rent
14 days
Annually
Save 5% when you buy a combined building and contents policy. The discount will apply to the first 12 months of your Seniors Landlords Insurance policy. The discount will be reapplied for 12 months each time your Seniors Landlords Insurance policy is renewed. T&Cs apply.
Qantas Landlord Home and Contents Insurance

Optional

10% of the sum insured amount of your property
21 days
Annually
Earn up to 30,000 Qantas Points with every Qantas Landlord Insurance policy you take out by 7 February. T&Cs and exclusions apply.
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What's not included?

These are some of the situations and events that a landlord or Airbnb insurance policy will not cover:

  • For landlord insurance, you generally won't be covered for Airbnb or Stayz unless they are staying for longer than 90 days
  • Some insurers will not cover you if you are only renting out a room (like on Airbnb) but are still living at the property
  • Water entering the building through an opening made to renovate or extend the property
  • Poor housekeeping by your tenants (e.g unhygienic or untidy living habits)
  • General wear and tear, rust, mould or mildew
  • Loss or damage caused by insects or vermin
  • Repairs carried out by the tenant that you consented to

For a full list of exclusions, be sure to give the product disclosure statement (PDS) a proper read.

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