An affordable home insurance option available to current and former members of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), as well as reservists, peacekeepers, widows and widowers.
Defence Service is the only brand we've seen that has no limit for legal liability claims.
Many of its benefits are generous, including 20% sum insured as standard.
Flexible payment options mean you can pay monthly or yearly at no extra cost - some brands charge more for monthly payments.
Cons
Defence Services policy documents aren't as clear or easy to read as some other brands.
Although Defence Services offer comprehensive cover, it's not very customisable.
While Defence Services underwrites its own home insurance, contents cover is offered by a third party.
Finder Score - Home and Contents Insurance
Each month, we get crunching on most every home insurance product in Australia to see how they stack up. We rank over 50 products on 16 different features, including price. We end up with a single score out of 10 that helps you compare home insurance a bit faster.
Defence Services offers comprehensive cover but unfortunately it isn't very customisable and there are no additional cover options available.
How to make a claim
You can lodge a claim with Defence Services Home Insurance online via its website. Alternatively, you can call 1300 552 662 or email dsh@dva.gov.au.
DSH insurance complaints information
The Defence Services Home Insurance Scheme is considered a medium-sized financial institution and, according to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), it was the subject of 11 home insurance complaints. This is within the realm of other medium-sized insurers including AIG (7 complaints), Assetinsure (9) and Blue Zebra (24).
FAQs
Defence Services home insurance is home insurance offered only to current and former members of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), as well as reservists, peacekeepers, widows and widowers. It is considered comprehensive and well-priced home insurance.
Defence Services underwrites its own home insurance but its contents insurance is underwritten by QBE.
You can contact SDH insurance online via its website, by calling 1300 552 662, or by writing to GPO Box 9998, Brisbane QLD 4001.
Nicola Middlemiss is a journalist with nearly a decade of experience in personal finance and insurance. She has contributed to Domain, Yahoo Finance, Money Magazine and Insurance Business Australia, offering in-depth insights into commercial insurance in the Australian market. Nicola holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Leeds and a Tier 1 General Insurance (General Advice) certification, which complies with ASIC standards. See full bio
Nicola's expertise
Nicola has written 245 Finder guides across topics including:
Personal finance
Personal insurance, including car, health, home, life, pet and travel insurance
Motor burnout covers those big appliances in your home in the event that they let you down. This article will show you what it is, why it's important and how much it can cost you.
Compare home and contents insurance - our research shows you can save up to $1,653 by switching.
Important information about this website
Finder makes money from featured partners, but editorial opinions are our own.
Finder is one of Australia's leading comparison websites. We are committed to our readers and stand by our editorial principles.
We try to take an open and transparent approach and provide a broad-based comparison service. However, you should be aware that while we are an independently owned service, our comparison service does not include all providers or all products available in the market.
Some product issuers may provide products or offer services through multiple brands, associated companies or different labeling arrangements. This can make it difficult for consumers to compare alternatives or identify the companies behind the products. However, we aim to provide information to enable consumers to understand these issues.
We make money by featuring products on our site. Compensation received from the providers featured on our site can influence which products we write about as well as where and how products appear on our page, but the order or placement of these products does not influence our assessment or opinions of them, nor is it an endorsement or recommendation for them.
Products marked as 'Top Pick', 'Promoted' or 'Advertisement' are prominently displayed either as a result of a commercial advertising arrangement or to highlight a particular product, provider or feature. Finder may receive remuneration from the Provider if you click on the related link, purchase or enquire about the product. Finder's decision to show a 'promoted' product is neither a recommendation that the product is appropriate for you nor an indication that the product is the best in its category. We encourage you to use the tools and information we provide to compare your options.
Where our site links to particular products or displays 'Go to site' buttons, we may receive a commission, referral fee or payment when you click on those buttons or apply for a product.
When products are grouped in a table or list, the order in which they are initially sorted may be influenced by a range of factors including price, fees and discounts; commercial partnerships; product features; and brand popularity. We provide tools so you can sort and filter these lists to highlight features that matter to you.
Please read our website terms of use and privacy policy for more information about our services and our approach to privacy.
We update our data regularly, but information can change between updates. Confirm details with the provider you're interested in before making a decision.
How likely would you be to recommend Finder to a friend or colleague?
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Very UnlikelyExtremely Likely
Required
Thank you for your feedback.
Our goal is to create the best possible product, and your thoughts, ideas and suggestions play a major role in helping us identify opportunities to improve.
