People are complicated creatures. Sometimes, they just want to destroy things. Thankfully, home insurance can help if they ever choose your home or its contents.
That's because all home and contents policies cover malicious damage as standard. That includes any deliberate and spiteful damage done by someone you didn't invite into your home.
Cover for malicious damage comes as standard in all home and contents policies, but there may be variations between which specific items are covered. Compare using the table below and don't forget to click "view details" to see more benefits.
Not all damage is malicious. Damage comes in several different forms and they're all treated slightly differently by home insurance.
| Type of damage | Example | How it's covered |
|---|---|---|
| Malicious | A vandal graffities over your walls and smashes your windows. | As long as you didn't invite the vandal into your home, your insurance will pay for repairs. |
| Intentional | You lose your wedding ring between cracks in the floorboards, so you rip them up. | Unfortunately, it probably won't be covered. Although the damage isn't malicious, it's still intentional so you might not be able to claim. |
| Accidental | You spill red wine on your new cream carpet. | Cover for accidental damage isn't always included as standard. But if it is, or if you've added it to your policy, you'll be covered. |
| Wear and tear | The fabric of your sofa tears after many years of use. | Wear and tear is never covered by home insurance. |
Yes, but you'll need landlord insurance first. Most insurance brands let customers add cover for malicious damage by tenants onto their landlord insurance policy.
This will pay out if your tenant damages any of your belongings which are in the property, like furniture or carpets. It'll also pay out if they damage the property itself – for example, punching holes in walls or smashing windows.
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Certain types of malicious damage are unlikely to be covered by your home insurance. Here are some common situations which probably won't be covered:
Looking for a by-the-book definition of malicious damage? Here are three extracts from the insurance documents of some big Australian brands:
| Home insurer | Definition | What's covered |
|---|---|---|
 | Damage to property by one person or multiple people that is illegal or unlawful, and intentional by nature. | Loss or damage to your insured home and contents caused by malicious damage, vandalism, riot, or civil commotion. You must report the incident to police to be covered. Some examples of loss or damage are things like broken windows, graffiti, doors ripped off hinges, and holes in walls. If you are a landlord, you can be covered for damage caused by tenants if you buy the optional Landlord cover 'Theft and malicious damage by tenants and their visitors'. |
 | Malicious damage means a wrongful act by a person with the intention of damaging property. | Loss or damage caused by a malicious act or vandalism. |
 | Deliberate acts intended to harm another person's property through an unlawful or wrongful act without justification or excuse. | Loss or damage caused by malicious acts. |
Putting in some simple security measures can not only reduce your risk of malicious damage, it might also bring the cost of your insurance premium down too. You can:
Check out our beginner's guide on home insurance for more info about what's typically covered by home and contents policies.
Or, if you're looking to protect something particular, like a laptop or piece of jewellery, you might benefit from single-item insurance.
Protect yourself from malicious damage
Knowing the difference between fixtures and fittings can help you decide which home insurance policy is right for you.
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