Accidental damage insurance explained

23 Feb 2021

Accidental damage insurance can cover unforeseen mishaps around the home that can occur in everyday life
It can be included as standard, or may be an optional extra that can be added to home and/or contents insurance
Damaged carpets, furniture, ornaments, TVs and more could be covered under your policy

No matter how careful we are, accidents can still happen around the home. While standard home and contents insurance can cover you for damage from events like storm damage, burst pipes, and fallen trees - accidental damage insurance can cover you for things like red wine spills, laptop drops, or children's toys thrown through TV screens. If your policy doesn’t include accidental damage cover as standard, you can add it to your home and or contents policy to protect you from those unintended mishaps.

Here we answer some questions to help you understand this handy coverage option.

Does home insurance cover accidental damage?

In most cases home insurance won’t include accidental damage as a standard part of your cover. However it’s important to read your policy documentation, including your product disclosure statement (PDS), to find out the specifics of your policy. Many insurers, including QBE, offer accidental damage cover as an optional extra to complement your home insurance.

Who is accidental damage insurance designed for?

It could be particularly useful for people with kids, as they can be more prone to accidents that cause damage to a home and its belongings. However mishaps can happen no matter how careful we are, so if you have home and or contents insurance it could be worth considering upgrading your policy to include accidental damage.

What does accidental damage insurance cover?

Accidental damage insurance - blue paint spilled on the carpet Accidental damage insurance is designed to cover unforeseen accidents that happen in everyday life. Here are a few scenarios where home and belongings could be protected under QBE’s Accidental Damage option.

Thanks to an indoor ball game, your TV screen is smashed
The kids decide the toilet is a great hiding spot for your mobile phone
While taking in the morning news, you spill your coffee on your personal laptop
As you move a new sofa, you accidently knock a hole in the plasterboard
A power surge damages your TV and personal laptop.

QBE’s Accidental Damage option won’t cover damage to belongings that are used for earning income. It also won’t cover damage to bicycles or sporting equipment while being used, or any watercraft, model aircraft or drone, or power-driven items in use like motored toy cars or ride-on equipment. Here are a few examples where your belongings typically wouldn’t be covered under QBE’s Accidental Damage option.

While driving your ride on mower, you accidently crash it, damaging the bonnet and motor
Your business laptop falls from the kitchen bench leaving its screen smashed and keyboard broken
While riding his bike, your son crashes into the back fence, damaging the bike’s wheels and handlebars
When flying your drone, you accidently crash it into a brick wall shattering it.

Regardless of the insurer you’ve chosen or are considering, it’s important to read any relevant policy documentation and your insurance product’s PDS to understand exactly what’s included and excluded from the policy.

Is it worth getting accidental damage cover on home insurance?

Accidental damage can cause expensive damage to your home and valuable contents like TVs, laptops, carpets and furniture so it’s worth weighing up the likelihood of unexpected mishaps and the value of your contents. It’s also important to think about other considerations like your policy excess.To get started, try this handy contents calculator to estimate the value of your belongings.

How does accidental damage cover work?

Accidental damage insurance - holding a damaged laptop Let’s say you’re painting a feature wall in your lounge room. As you come down the ladder, you accidentally knock the open tin of paint all over your carpet. The carpet is damaged beyond repair. And, as the carpet extends into the dining room, this needs to be replaced too.

The good news is, you have QBE Home Insurance with an Accidental Damage option. Your contents sum insured is $71,000 with a basic excess of $500.

In this instance, QBE would pay the cost to replace the carpet in both the lounge and dining room (given the dimensions, they are considered as one room).

The cost of replacing the carpet is $7,000. After you pay your excess of $500, QBE would cover the remaining balance of $6,500.

What does it cost?

In most cases, you can add accidental damage cover for an extra premium.

The extra premium can depend on many factors, such as your policy details and history of accidental damage claims.

To find out more about how much it could cost get a QBE Home Insurance quote.

Find out more about QBE Home Insurance

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This advice is general in nature and has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs and may not be right for you. You must decide whether or not it is appropriate, in light of your own circumstances, to act on this advice. To decide if QBE’s products are right for you, please ensure you obtain and consider the Policy Wording or Product Disclosure Statements and Target Market Determinations, available online at QBE.com/au. Insurance issued and underwritten by QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited (ABN 78 003 191 035, AFSL 239545).