CGU has a home insurance policy that automatically covers accidental damage. Most make you pay extra for it.
It's one of the few insurers to automatically cover floods. Some will make you pay extra for it.
If you don't want a comprehensive home insurance policy, you may want to look elsewhere.
What do CGU home insurance policies include?
CGU Home Insurance provide three levels of cover for Australians: Accidental Damage, Listed Events and Fundamentals. These policies provide options suitable to various homes and budgets.
Here's a short list of some of the insured events it covers:
If you change your mind and want to cancel your policy, it comes with a 21 day cooling off period – this is the same as the majority of other insurers. You can cancel and receive a full refund, so long as you haven't made any claims. You'll also need to pay an excess whenever you make a claim.
CGU home insurance policies come with an extension list of benefits. If an insured event causes loss or damage, you can get covered for:
Credit card and transaction card misuse
Fine art, paintings and works of art
Flood cover (automatic)
Alternate accommodation
CDs, DVDs, Bluray® discs, and digital downloads
Burning out of an electric motor
Architects, surveyors and legal fees
Frozen food
New for old replacement cover (Contents)
Removal of debris and demolishing costs
Replacing keys and recoding of locks and barrels
Valuable items
Optional add-ons
CGU also offers more optional add-ons than many other insurers. Some of these features include:
Worldwide valuables cover
Strata title mortgagee protection
Special valuables
Exclusions
CGU's general exclusions are similar to other home insurance providers. Your home insurance claim will not be paid if:
It is for settling, shrinkage or movement of the earth
It is for erosion, rust, mould or mildew, wear and tear or gradual deterioration
It is for loss or damage caused by rats, mice or insects
It is caused by roots from trees, shrubs, plants or grass
It results from any cleaning process involving the use of chemicals (except domestic household chemicals)
It is caused by a defect, structural defect, or faulty workmanship or design
You should read the relevant CGU home insurance PDS for a full list of general exclusions. You can also find out more about things home insurance doesn't cover on our general exclusions page.
CGU home insurance complaints
We looked at home insurance complaint data from the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) between July to December 2020. The data explores different underwriters and compares their business size to the number of complaints processed.
When comparing insurers, keep in mind that insurers with a larger market share serve more customers so can potentially get more complaints.
CGU home insurance is underwritten by Insurance Australia Limited. The information also includes data from other insurers Insurance Australia underwrites. Here's an overview of how it did:
It received a large proportion of complaints compared to other similarly sized insurers, though marginally better than AAI (which received 673 in the same period), suggesting it's not the best choice for customer service.
While it received a lot of complaints, most (283) were resolved.
Bottom line about CGU home insurance
CGU home insurance is good if you want a comprehensive home insurance policy that comes with lots of inclusions. However, it had a high complaints percentage for the period we looked at so consider looking elsewhere if you want an insurer with a good customer service record.
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FAQs about CGU home insurance
Before you contact CGU to make a claim, make sure that you have all the information necessary for your claim to be processed. This could include the contact details of anyone else involved in the incident, copies of letters and court documents relating to the incident, and a police incident report number where applicable.
To lodge a claim, call 13 24 80 - it's available 24/7. It's important that you contact CGU as soon as possible in order to prevent your claim being reduced or refused. In order to assess your claim, CGU may request you to provide proof of ownership, may need to inspect your building or contents, and may need to obtain quotes from repairers.
Once you've provided all relevant information, your claim can then be assessed and processed.
When you make a claim on your CGU Home Insurance policy, you'll need to contribute towards the cost of that claim by paying an excess. The amount and type of excesses that apply to your cover will be shown in your policy schedule. For example, in addition to the basic excess amount, you may need to pay an additional $250 excess if you make a claim for an earthquake or tsunami.
The amount of excess you will need to pay is influenced by factors such as the age and construction of your property, its location, and your previous insurance history.
CGU home insurance is underwritten by Insurance Australia Limited.
Yes, tablets and mobiles are covered under your contents insurance as valuable items. How much you're covered for depends on your policy.
CGU offers the following three policies, each of which offers a different level of cover: Accidental Damage is the highest level of cover, Listed Events offers standard cover and Fundamentals provides basic protection.
Your contents are covered by CGU while they are in the process of being moved to your new home, regardless of whether you are moving within Australia or overseas.
Yes, flood cover is automatically included in CGU's Home and Contents Insurance.
Yes, up to $5,000 of cover is provided for the belongings of your visitors if they are damaged by an insured event. However, cover only applies if those belongings are not already insured under another policy.
Here's the key eligibility criteria for a CGU home insurance policy:
The type of home you own. It must be a free standing house, townhouse, villa or duplex, semi-detached house or terrace. Registered body corporate buildings and houseboats are not eligible.
How you use the home you own. It must be your primary residence or holiday home. It's not suitable if your home is a business, such as a hotel or bed & breakfast.
The condition of your home. The home needs to meet acceptable dwelling criteria; for instance, it must be secure, watertight, structurally sound and well maintained. It's not suitable for homes under initial construction or renovations that cost more than specified in the PDS.
Gary Ross Hunter was an editor at Finder, specialising in insurance. He’s been writing about life, travel, home, car, pet and health insurance for over 6 years and regularly appears as an insurance expert in publications including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Guardian and news.com.au. Gary holds a Kaplan Tier 2 General Advice General Insurance certification which meets the requirements of ASIC Regulatory Guide 146 (RG146). See full bio
Gary Ross's expertise
Gary Ross has written 725 Finder guides across topics including:
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You pay nothing. Finder is free to use. And you pay the same as going direct. No markups, no hidden fees.
You save time. We spend 100s of hours researching home insurance so you can sort the gold from the junk faster.
You can trust us. We say it like it is. We aren't owned by an insurer and our opinions are our own.
