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Think about where you are in your life. Chances are your lifestyle has changed a lot in the last 5-10 years, and it probably will again. The point is, you’re always growing, and your home and contents insurance should adapt with you. As you move into new stages of life, you should be thinking about adjusting your cover to suit your needs.
Life is like one big game of Tetris, we’re always adding and removing things as we go. There’s a tonne of ways you can customise home and contents coverage to suit your lifestyle. Take a look at the below and see if it applies to you.
They grow up so fast: First time renting
Renting for the first time is a strange sensation. All of a sudden, you’re an adult. First on the agenda? Meet new flat mates, buy new clothes and a laptop for uni or your first real job, learn to cook and do laundry for yourself. But most of all, you finally have the freedom from your parents you’ve been looking forward to (with a weekly call to let them know how it’s going of course.) You want to enjoy the first time out of home for all it’s worth, so even though you don’t own the property, it’s important to cover your belongings – things like furniture, electrical appliances, and clothing. Don’t forget to keep receipts of your items for proof of ownership.
When you’re studying or just getting your foot in the door for your career, it’s helpful to find ways to save. You can reduce your premium (the amount you pay for the policy) by increasing your excess – the amount you have to pay if you make a claim on your policy, which is usually deducted out of the sum that is given to you upon claiming.
#SmashedAvo: Stepping into the property market
After some good years in the share house life, you’ve matured like the fine wines you might now enjoy. Not only that, but you’ve been killing it with your savings and at last bought that crowning jewel of adulthood – your own property. Now you’ll need to throw a housewarming party, read some blogs on interior design and brush up on your repair skills.
It’s also a good time to add in some home insurance. You can choose between total replacement, which covers your home up to its worth before the damage, and sum-insured, which covers up to a set amount that you select. Total replacement takes time to receive funds because the insurer needs to determine the value. With sum-insured there is higher chance of underinsurance, but your claim can generally be settled once the insurer has confirmed your loss.
Check out optional cover options depending on your location and lifestyle. If you live near a lake or river you might want flood cover. You can add landlord cover if you have an investment property, in case your tenant defaults on their rental payments.
Baby steps: Starting a family
Your parents have been hounding you for grandkids for a while now and you’ve given in. Now Sundays aren’t for sleeping in, they’re for family breakfast. Christmas becomes exciting all over again as you celebrate with your new family. You’ll need a family dog. For security purposes, of course. With kids there’s potential for more accidents – that’s where accidental damage becomes a good addition.
If you need, try unspecified or specified personal effects cover. Unspecified covers standard items that aren’t a part of the usual cover like baby seats, children’s toys, furs and musical instruments. Specified covers items near and dear to you, like a wedding ring, family heirloom or an artwork.
The fun starts now: Getting the nest all to yourself
Your kids have all grown up and moved out. But focus on the positive – you have the house to yourself, again! Now’s the time to think about hobbies (maybe it’s time to learn a second language?) and get travelling.
Think about rolling back some coverage to save up. Maybe you don’t need accidental cover anymore or you no longer have those specified contents. It’s also important to tell your provider about any big trips. After your house is unoccupied for 60 consecutive days, coverage can stop if you don’t let them know. Maybe you’ve finally started that stamp collection, so double check if your insurer needs you to declare collections as a separate item.
Just like your interests and situation changes as you go through different stages of life, so do your insurance needs. To find out how you can customise insurance to suit your lifestyle, get a quick and easy online quote at https://www.ing.com.au/insurance.html
ING Home and Contents Insurance is issued by Auto & General Insurance Company Ltd ABN 42 111 586 353 AFSL 285571 as insurer. It is distributed by Auto & General Services Pty Ltd ABN 61 003 617 909 AFSL 241411 (AGS) and by ING Bank (Australia) Ltd ABN 24 000 893 292 as Authorised Representative 1247634 of AGS. ING is a business name of ING Bank (Australia) Ltd (ING).
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Information in this article is general information only, and does not take into account your particular objectives, financial situation or needs and you should consider whether it is appropriate for you having regard to these factors before acting on it. Conditions, limits/sub-limits, waiting periods, exclusions and excesses apply. Read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement, Target Market Determination, Key Fact Sheets, Financial Services Guide and the ING Customer Eligibility and Name-Screening document and consider if an ING Home & Contents Insurance product is right for you before deciding to purchase or continue to hold the product.
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