Kogan Home Insurance

Kogan can help protect your property with a range of insurance options. Homeowners might want to take out both home and contents cover to enjoy a discount, while renters might want to take a look at contents only cover, and landlords might wish to add Kogan landlord insurance.

With a focus on affordability and flexible cover options, Kogan might be a cost-effective way to get the right home insurance.

What does Kogan home insurance cover?

There are two levels of home cover available: Essential and Top. Both can deliver the all-important protection from natural events and legal liability cover, while Top can also include a range of additional benefits.

In the case of home insurance only, your insured item is the property itself, including most permanent fixtures inside (like floor tiles), secured outbuildings like garages and sheds, and landscaping like retaining walls, driveways and tennis courts. It does not include caravans kept on the property, swimming pools or most other landscaping.

Carpets, floor rugs, internal blinds and contents are considered to be contents, rather than part of the property.

If your insured property suffers damage caused by an insured event, you can claim the cost of your loss with Kogan home insurance.

What additional cover types are available?

You are also covered for legal liability under Kogan home insurance. This means that if you are legally liable to pay compensation as a result of accidents that occur on your property, Kogan can cover the cost of compensation awarded, reasonable legal expenses or a settlement on your behalf, up to $20 million.

Conditions apply. For example, you are not covered for any liability that emerges from asbestos or in connection with someone’s employment to you. For example, you won’t be covered under this policy if found liable for a housekeeper’s injuries on your property.

• With Kogan home insurance, your legal liability cover applies on your property only.
• With Kogan contents insurance, your legal liability is extended Australia-wide.

A range of additional cover types is also included, which can vary depending on whether you choose Essentials or Top cover.

With the exception of accidental damage and pet accommodation, you are only able to claim the following when it’s the result of an insured event and Kogan has accepted your claim.

What exclusions should I be aware of?

Specific exclusions may apply to individual cover types while a range of general exclusions apply across your policy.

Some of the key general exclusions are:

• Actions of the sea: You are not covered for any actions of the sea other than tsunamis, including high tides. For example, you might not be covered for flooding if it occurs as a result of a king tide.
• Bushfire, storm, rainwater or flood within 72 hours of taking out cover: You cannot take out an insurance policy to cover an event that you know is coming within the next 72 hours. This does not apply to renewing policies, or switching cover if you previously had this type of cover.
• Gradual deterioration: You are not covered for rust, wear and tear, mould, mildew or rising damp.
• Unoccupied for longer than 90 consecutive days: If your property is unoccupied for longer than 90 consecutive days, it is no longer covered for anything except lightning and earthquake damage.
• Inherent defects or maintenance failures: You are not covered for inherent defects, such as shoddy construction or damage resulting from your failure to keep the property in good repair.
• Any earth movement except as otherwise covered: You are not covered for any earth movements, such as landslides, mudslides, erosion, subsidence or collapse, unless it’s the result of an earthquake, flood or rainwater and occurs within 72 hours of it.
• Tree roots: You are not covered for any damage or loss resulting from tree roots, including legal liability from a guest tripping over them.
• Cleaning with heat or chemicals: With the exception of regular household chemicals, you are not covered for any damage caused by cleaning with the application of heat or chemicals.
• Power surges, mechanical or electrical failure, or data corruption: You are not covered for loss or corruption of electronic data and are not covered for power surges, or mechanical or electrical failure except as otherwise stated (such as with the electric motor burnout optional extra, or power surges caused by lightning strikes).
• Building work, including extensions and renovations: You are not covered for damage or loss resulting from construction or renovations, such as impacts from construction vehicles. Buildings under construction cannot be insured under this policy either. However, renovations and extensions to existing buildings can be covered as part of this home insurance.
• Deliberate actions by you or other residents: You are not covered for deliberate damage or theft by other people living at the premises or people on the premises with your permission.
• Activities or events that legally require you to hold insurance: You are not covered for events or activities on the premises that legally require you or your family to hold insurance.

If you will be going away, even for less than 90 consecutive days, you are obligated to make sure the home looks lived in and make arrangements to:

• Keep the lawns mowed and garden tidy
• Stop regular mail and newspaper deliveries
• Arrange for someone to check inside and outside your home at least once a week

If another party has a financial interest in the home, such as if someone else is a part-owner or you have a mortgage, then you need to name this other party on your application.

How much does it cost?

The cost of your policy comes in two parts:

• The premium: This is the regular, ongoing cost of maintaining your cover.
• The excess: This is a contribution you may need to make towards certain types of claims before Kogan will cover it.

Your premiums are determined by factors including:

• The cover you choose
• The property and site you want to insure
• The limits and the excess that will apply
• Your previous insurance and claims history

Your excess may vary depending on the situation and your cover, and will be shown on your policy document. Depending on the type of claim, you might have to pay different excesses, or no excess at all.

This type of variation in excess payments is typical for home insurance policies.

How do I make a claim?

Before making a claim you should:

• Secure your home and take reasonable steps to prevent further damage
• Report the incident to police if applicable
• Call the Kogan claims team on 1300 034 888 and report the incident

Do not admit any guilt, liability or fault, except to police, and do not offer to negotiate or settle with any other parties, or consent to any repairs without approval from Kogan, except for the purposes of minimising further damage.

Is Kogan home insurance right for me?

Everyone’s situation is different, so only you can determine whether Kogan home insurance is the right choice for you, but you might want to consider a few things in particular.

• Do you frequently travel? Under this policy, your home is still covered after being unoccupied for up to 90 days. After this, it’s still covered for earthquake and lightning damage. Many other policies will only cover unoccupancy for up to 60 consecutive days, after which cover will run out entirely. Kogan home insurance might be a competitive choice for people who travel for long periods of time. This is balanced by the need to have someone come and check on your home at least once a week. Not all policies have this strict requirement.

• No cover for activities that legally require insurance. This is an uncommon policy exclusion, which may be worth noting. It may extend to activities such as driving which require compulsory car insurance. As such, you might not be covered for accidentally damaging your own home with a vehicle.

• Are you also getting contents insurance? You can get a considerable policy discount of up to 20% off premiums by purchasing Kogan home and contents insurance online. It’s also worth noting that Top cover might not be worth it for home insurance alone, but is more likely to be value for money if you’re also getting contents insurance, and might add more potentially useful benefits.