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.
Your reviews
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★★★★★(0)
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All user-submitted reviews must meet our review guidelines. These set out our standards and expectations, including that the review is from by a genuine user of the relevant product or service and that it is honest, authentic and respectful. We explicitly prohibit fake or otherwise misleading reviews and we check all submissions, but we make no guarantee as to the authenticity of any published review or reviewer. Some reviews may be submitted (regardless of sentiment) in exchange for entry into any competition(s) for which we are the promoter.
10 of 14 reviews
★★★★★Army Wife (Brisbane ) 1 year ago
Dishonest
Avoid like the plague. Will not honour roof claims after major storms leaving home damaged.
★★★★★Geoff (Armidale) 3 years ago
Roof repair
Waiting over 8 months now for hail damaged roof repair. The company Defense Insurance are using (Nexus Group ) are useless. Poor communication and can't get trades to do the job.
★★★★★Glenn Watson (South ripley) 3 years ago
DSH insurance poor service
Bad experience, current situation for a simple repair, still unresolved or dealt with for over 12 months. DSH basically putting the problem under the carpet, with dealing with repairers to do their job. Frustrating, as we can not move to another insurances provider, as we want DSH insurance to be accountable for its obligation to resolve this matter. Very stressful to our family how this has been handle.
★★★★★G MacMahon (Amberley queensland) 3 years ago
If you are a disabled veteran stay away from DSH Insurance
Like DVA, DSH are staffed by non ex service members and lack understanding about chronic disabilities that need immediate claims assessment that impact on claimants medical well being like ceiling mould from rain, to wait could be fatal or at least cause hospitalisation in Intensive care. If you are serving and or fit, maybe DSH Insurance could be suitable?
★★★★★Desmond Petty (Modbury hieghts) 4 years ago
Incorrect decision.
The claim submitted to DHIns. was declined incorrectly. AFCA were contacted who caused the claim to be honered. Also a penalty was applied for interest and stress. Be careful.
★★★★★ (NSW) 4 years ago
Great company to deal with ,effective and quick and easy . No problems processing claims
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 243 Finder guides across topics including:
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