Are kitchen appliances covered by contents insurance?

How we calculate Contents only home insurance Finder Scores

Read full methodology

What different scores mean

9+

Excellent

These products offer a balance between low pricing and more features.

7+

Great

Competitive products within their group.

5+

Standard

Usually these products would either have fewer benefits or higher pricing.

0+

Basic

Offering basic cover with limited features or higher pricing.

Does contents insurance cover kitchen appliances?

Contents insurance provides cover for your kitchen appliances if they become damaged by something like fire, theft or flood. It won’t cover them for general wear and tear or if it’s just a faulty product. For that, you’ll need to contact the manufacturer of the appliance.

How does contents insurance cover kitchen appliances?

Home insurance will give you broader protection than warranties, generally including cover for the following (among other things):

• Water damage from floods and escape of liquid from your plumbing system
• Fire
• Lightning and storm damage
• Theft, attempted theft and vandalism
• Impact damage (e.g. from falling trees or branches)

When you're researching policies, check out the upper limits the insurer pays out for appliances, individually and in total, and what the appliances will and won't be covered against.

Exclusions to keep in mind

There can be exclusions to home and kitchen appliance insurance in the following circumstances:

• An appliance is over a certain age (e.g. 10 years)
• You use the appliance for business

Benefits to keep in mind when selecting your contents insurance

Most contents insurance providers offer optional extras that allow you to further tailor your insurance policy. To ensure your kitchen appliances are adequately covered, it can be worth checking the following:

• Motor burnout: This refers to when there is a surge in electricity and it results in your motor being burned out. This could be a washing machine motor or a fridge, or anything else that has the capacity to be fried by electricity.
• Accidental damage: This one is rarely included as standard but well worth looking for if you want to be covered for accidental mishaps. This could be something like accidentally smashing your glass oven door.

How to ensure you’ve got adequate insurance for your kitchen appliances

When you take out a contents insurance policy, you will be asked how much coverage you want. For many people, this is the hardest part of taking out an insurance policy because it means knowing the cost of all your contents. It’s easy to underestimate how much you actually own, so it’s helpful to do a walk through your house and tally it all up. Given we’re looking at kitchen appliances, let’s go through some of the items you might wish to insure below.

Our expert says

"Your kitchen includes many appliances and it’s important to cover each of them thoroughly. Keep in mind, when you’re taking out your contents insurance policy, the cost of your kitchen appliances is only a fraction of the costs you should be including. Your contents policy is also responsible for covering all other goods in your house too - like a vacuum, washing machine, TVs and more. Make sure you account for all of these costs to avoid underinsurance."

Peta Taylor

Publisher of Insurance

FAQs

• Are kitchen appliances covered by contents insurance?

  Yes, but they’re only covered for damage from things like fire, theft, flood and more. They’re not covered for things like wear & tear or if it’s a faulty product. Be sure to know the difference between what’s covered as part of manufacturers warranty and what’s covered as part of a contents insurance policy.

• Are kitchen appliances covered under building insurance?

  No, building insurance is for the building (house) structure only. It will not include cover for any of the belongings inside the house. For that, you’ll need contents insurance.

• Does home insurance cover kitchen appliances?

  Home insurance will only cover kitchen appliances if you hold home and contents insurance. That’s because it’s the ‘contents’ part that provides cover for your appliances. The ‘home’ part only covers the actual building structure. A combined home and contents policy covers both, and therefore would cover your kitchen appliances.

Written by

Peta Taylor

Publisher of Insurance

Peta Taylor is a publisher at Finder, working across all of insurance. She's been analysing product disclosure statements and publishing articles for over 2 years. Peta is passionate about demystifying complex insurance products to help users make well educated decisions with confidence. Peta is part of Finder's insurance awards team and works alongside editorial and insights experts to bring users the best insurance products every year. See full bio

Co-written by

Jessica Prasida

Travel Insurance Expert

Jessica Prasida brings a decade of experience in the travel industry, including over four years as a travel agent and branch manager at STA Travel. She holds a Bachelor of Business and a Master of Marketing from the University of Technology, Sydney, as well as a Tier 1 General Insurance qualification that complies with ASIC guidelines. An avid traveller herself, Jessica combines her professional expertise with a passion for ensuring safe and enjoyable journeys for all travellers. Jessica was a Travel Insurance Publisher at Finder from 2019 to 2024. See full bio