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Approximately 75 per cent of Australia’s tenants do not insure their household belongings despite being more vulnerable to making a claim.
Insurance experts say many of the nation’s 2.5 million rental households do not value their assets highly enough and are confused about cover, when just $10 a week can provide peace of mind in most cases.
New research for the Insurance Council of Australia’s understandinsurance.com.au website has found that 74 per cent of renters don’t have contents insurance, compared with just seven per cent of homeowners. However, renters are twice as likely to need to make a claim for theft or burglary.
ICA spokesman Campbell Fuller told news.com.au that contents insurance is often a low priority for tenants.
“They may not understand the value of what they actually own, or they may mistakenly think their contents are covered by their landlord’s insurance,” he said.
“Many renters may not appreciate that even if they live in a shared house they can still find appropriate insurance.”
Abigail Koch, a spokeswoman for insurance comparison website comparethemarket.com.au, said tenants who move straight out of the family home typically have an average of $15,000 of contents, but this can quickly rise.
Ms Koch said premiums vary between capital cities, but $20,000 worth of contents cover generally costs between $333 and $576 a year.
She says it’s a myth to think that landlords must cover the costs if things go wrong.
“There are things you can do to get premiums as affordable as possible,” she said.
“Ask your landlord if they are willing to invest in extra security — that can reduce your monthly premiums and should reduce theirs as well.”
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