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Home Contents Insurance

Your home is more than bricks and mortar – it’s where everything that matters to you lives. Getting the right home and contents insurance from an insurance broker means knowing exactly what you’re covered for, and having someone in your corner when you need to make a claim. That’s where we come in.

At Dudgeon Berry Insurance Group, we’re independent insurance brokers. We don’t work for an insurer – we work for you. We compare policies across a range of leading insurers to find cover that genuinely fits your home, your belongings, and your circumstances.

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Dudgeon Berry provides market leading insurance services, with over 85 years combined experience.

What is Home and Contents Insurance

Home and contents insurance is designed to protect you financially if your home or possessions are damaged, destroyed, or stolen. There are three main types of cover and the right combination depends on whether you own or rent, and what you need to protect. The three types of cover are:

Building insurance

Building insurance covers the structure of your home itself: the walls, roof, floors, windows, and permanently fixed fixtures like kitchen cabinetry and bathroom fittings. If your home is damaged by a covered event such as fire, storm, or a fallen tree, building insurance covers the cost to repair or rebuild it.

Building insurance is essential for homeowners. If you have a mortgage, your lender will typically require you to hold it.

Contents insurance

Contents insurance protects the things inside your home such as furniture, appliances, electronics, clothing, tools, and valuables, against events like theft, fire, and storm damage. You can often extend this to cover accidental damage, or to protect portable valuables like jewellery and laptops when you’re away from home.

Contents insurance isn’t just for homeowners. If you’re renting, it’s the cover that protects everything you own.

Combined home and contents insurance

A combined policy covers both your building and your belongings under a single policy. For homeowners, this is often the most practical and cost-effective approach, and it ensures there are no gaps between your building and contents cover.

What does home and contents insurance typically cover?

Coverage varies between policies and insurers, but most standard home and contents policies in Australia include protection for:

Building Cover Contents Cover
Fire and smoke damage Theft and attempted theft
Storm and rainwater damage Fire and smoke damage
Flood damage (where selected and available) Storm and flood damage (where selected)
Impact damage – e.g. a fallen tree or vehicle impact Malicious damage and vandalism
Malicious damage and vandalism Accidental damage (on some policies)
Explosion and earthquake Cover for portable valuables away from home (on some policies)
Escape of liquid (burst pipes, leaking appliances)
Temporary accommodation if your home becomes uninhabitable

💡 Pro Tip

What’s covered and what’s excluded varies significantly between policies. This is exactly why reading the Product Disclosure Statement matters, and why having a broker review your options is worthwhile.

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How much cover do you actually need?

Underinsurance is one of the most common and costly problems in home insurance. It happens when your sum insured doesn’t reflect what it would genuinely cost to repair or replace what you’ve lost.

Building Insurance

Your sum insured should reflect the full cost to rebuild your home from scratch and not the market value of the property. This includes demolition and removal of debris, materials, labour, council fees, and any unique features of your home. In areas where building costs have risen sharply (as they have across much of regional NSW and Queensland in recent years), it’s worth reviewing your sum insured regularly.

Contents Insurance

Work through each room in your home and estimate the replacement cost of everything in it. It’s easy to overlook everyday items such as wardrobes full of clothing, the contents of your kitchen cupboards, sporting equipment, tools in the shed. Add up everything, including items that don’t feel significant individually but add up quickly.

Not sure where to start? Our team can walk you through both calculations and make sure your cover reflects reality.

Professional Advice. Personal Service.

Who We Help

We arrange home and contents insurance for a wide range of clients across New South Wales, Queensland, and Australia-wide, including:

  • Homeowners: combined building and contents policies to protect your biggest asset
  • Renters:  contents-only cover to protect everything you own
  • Property investors:  landlord Insurance for investment property cover
  • High-value properties: homes with unique features, high rebuild costs, or valuable contents that need tailored coverage
  • Properties in flood zones or high-risk areas: specialist placement for homes where standard insurers may decline
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Why use an Insurance Broker for home and contents insurance

When you go direct to an insurer, you’re choosing from one company’s range of products. When you work with a broker, you get access to policies across multiple insurers and the additional benefit of someone who knows how to read the fine print.

Here’s what working with Dudgeon Berry looks like in practice:

We compare policies for you We have access to a wide panel of insurers and can identify the policies that best match your situation — not just on price, but on the cover that actually matters.
We check for gaps Policy exclusions are where people get caught out at claim time. We go through the details so you know exactly what you’re covered for before something goes wrong.
We help you get the sum insured right Underinsurance is a real risk. We help you work through your building replacement cost and the true replacement value of your contents so you’re not left short.
We’re here when you need to claim Making a claim can be stressful. We act as your advocate with the insurer, helping you navigate the process and get a fair outcome.
We’ve got history With our long history comes unparalleled experience, knowledge and contacts. Our awards and 4.9 Google Rating are testament to not only our professional capability, but that we do it with care and a commitment to a high standard of service.

Home insurance in the Northern Rivers – What you need to know

If you own a home in the Northern Rivers, whether that’s Lismore, Ballina, Mullumbimby, Byron Bay, or anywhere in between, the 2022 floods made one thing very clear: the right insurance cover isn’t just a financial decision, it’s a lifeline.

Getting home insurance in flood-prone areas isn’t straightforward. Not every insurer will offer cover in high-risk locations. Some will exclude flood damage. Others will include it but at a premium that reflects the location’s risk profile. And the definitions insurers use for ‘flood’ versus ‘storm surge’ versus ‘stormwater’ can significantly affect whether a claim is paid.

This is where having an insurance broker who knows the Northern Rivers market makes a real difference. We can:

  • Identify which insurers will offer flood cover for your property and on what terms
  • Explain exactly how flood is defined in each policy and what that means for your cover
  • Help you understand your options if mainstream insurers have declined to cover your property
  • Make sure you’re not paying for cover that’s less than it appears

If you’ve had trouble getting home insurance because of your location, or you’re not sure whether your current policy would actually pay out in a flood event, talk to us. We know this region, and we can give you a straight answer.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is home and contents insurance?

Home and contents insurance protects you financially if your home or belongings are damaged, destroyed, or stolen. Building insurance covers the structure of your home – the walls, roof, floors, and fixed fixtures. Contents insurance covers your personal belongings inside the home. A combined policy covers both. An insurance broker can help you compare policies from multiple insurers and find the right level of cover for your circumstances.

What does home building insurance cover?

Building insurance typically covers the cost to repair or rebuild your home if it’s damaged by fire, storm, lightning, impact damage (such as a fallen tree), explosion, vandalism, or theft. Flood cover is available under many policies but may not be automatic. You may need to select it, and availability depends on your insurer and location. A broker can help you understand what’s covered and ensure your sum insured is adequate.

Do I need a broker for home and contents insurance?

You’re not required to use a broker, but there are real advantages to doing so. An insurance broker compares policies across multiple insurers, identifies exclusions and gaps you might miss, helps you get the sum insured right, and advocates for you at claim time. For homeowners in flood-prone areas, broker expertise is particularly valuable, as some insurers may decline to offer cover based on your address.

Is flood damage covered by home insurance in Australia?

Flood cover is available through many home insurance policies, but it may not be  automatic, and not all insurers offer it for all locations. In flood-prone areas like Lismore and the Northern Rivers, some insurers may decline to offer cover or charge significantly higher premiums. A broker with local knowledge can identify suitable insurers, explain policy definitions around flood and stormwater, and help you understand your options.

How much home and contents insurance do I need?

Your building sum insured should reflect the full cost to rebuild your home from the ground up, including demolition, materials, and labour. Your contents sum insured should reflect what it would cost to replace everything you own. Both are easy to underestimate. An insurance broker can help you work through both figures so you’re not underinsured at claim time.

Can I insure contents in a rental property?

Yes. If you rent, your landlord is responsible for building insurance but your personal belongings are your responsibility. A contents-only policy covers your possessions against theft, fire, storm damage, and other insured events. Some policies also cover accidental damage or portable valuables away from home. Talk to an insurance broker about the right level of cover for renters.

What is the difference between agreed value and replacement value?

Agreed value policies pay out a pre-agreed fixed amount in the event of a total loss. Replacement value (or replacement cost) policies pay whatever it costs to repair or replace the item or building at the time of the claim, up to your sum insured. The right option depends on your property and preferences. An insurance broker can explain both and recommend the most appropriate approach for your situation.

Other Insurance Services

Not sure what coverage you need or you haven’t seen it in our list of services? No problem, chances are we can still help. Get in touch today.

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We prioritise building strong relationships with our clients, based on trust, transparency, and personal service.

Connect with us Today

We prioritise building strong relationships with our clients, based on trust, transparency, and personal service.