Fixtures: Items that are firmly attached to your home and difficult to remove.
Fittings: Temporarily attached to the property or free standing items which can be removed.
There are some exceptions to the rule though. For example, carpets can fall into either category: some insurers treat fitted carpet as part of the building, while others cover carpets under contents. We recommend contacting your insurer directly if you need clarification.
Generally, building insurance protects fixtures and contents insurance protects fittings. Combined home and contents insurance policies in the table below protect both, while building-only and contents-only policies cover one or the other.
| Response | |
|---|---|
| Yes | 68.37% |
| No | 18.06% |
| I don't know | 13.57% |
We crunch eligible home insurance products 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. We assess home and contents, building only and contents only products individually.
Fixtures are items that are firmly attached to your home. There are some exceptions to the rule but generally, you would not take fixtures with you if you decided to move home.
There are two types of home insurance that can cover your fixtures.
This type of policy will cover the physical structure of your home. This includes things like solar panels and your bathroom sink, but it won't include your fittings or contents.
This type of policy is more comprehensive since it will cover both your fixtures and fittings. It covers the physical structure of your house and the belongings you keep in it.
Fittings are items that are freestanding or temporarily attached to your home. Generally, you would take fittings with you if you moved elsewhere. Carpets are a grey area, though: some insurers class fitted carpet as part of the building, while others cover carpets under contents, so check your insurer's PDS.
You can choose from two types of home insurance to cover your fittings.
This policy can cover your fittings and other things you have around your home. Just keep in mind that it won't cover things that are permanently attached to your home, or the physical house itself.
A home and contents insurance policy is probably the more comprehensive option since it can cover both fittings and fixtures. This way, you don't have to figure out which is which.
You can read our beginner's guide on home insurance to learn more about policies which cover both fixtures and fittings.
If you only want to insure the permanent fixtures, check out building insurance. If you're interested in insuring fittings, take a look at contents insurance.
Compare home insurance to cover your fittings and fixtures
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