Are you properly insured?

You've worked hard to get yourself in the right financial space to buy a property and a car, but do you have the right cover to protect it? In the event of damage, can you afford to pay for the repairs to your assets out of your own pocket? The pandemic has pushed the already increasing demand in the construction sector higher, while also bringing about logistics issues that have resulted in shortages, delays, and ultimately increases in prices of materials across the board.

As for contents, imagine life without your fridge, dishwasher, washing machine, or clothes dryer. All things we take for granted in the modern world. They save us time, money, and effort. If they were damaged, lost, or stolen it would be at the very least a hassle to the day-to-day running of your home. And let's not forget all your furniture, bedding, and whatever you have hiding in the shed or garage.

With availability of new cars slowing significantly, used car prices are at an all-time high. Many buyers have taken to the second hand market, which has seen a huge increase in demand, and an increase in price. Have you taken a look at the price of your car on the used car market recently? You might be surprised!

Protect everything you've worked hard for by ensuring you're covered for the right amount so you're not left picking up the bill.

Here are our assessor's tips so you can sit back knowing you’re covered for the right amount if anything should happen.

Home & Contents:

• Use our calculators to help you choose the right amount of cover.

• Don't forget to get jewellery and antique valuations.

• Our contents insurance provides new-for-old replacement so keep that in mind. If your particular washing machine is no longer available - or there's a pandemic making things hard to find - it might cost you more to replace the machine you have now for a new one down the track.

• Consider if you need additional coverage such as Accident Damage or Portable Items.

• Read your Product Disclosure Statement to understand what your policy does and doesn't cover.

• Check your renewal documents to ensure the information is accurate and your sum insured is correct.

Vehicle:

• Check the type of policy you have - does it cover your car or does it just cover damage you cause?  Ensure the type of policy suits your circumstances (Comprehensive/Third Party/Collector).

• Read your Product Disclosure Statement to understand what your policy does and doesn’t cover.

• Check your renewal documents to ensure the information is accurate and your sum insured is correct.  This is your opportunity to call us to discuss the sum insured and adjust if necessary.

• Vehicle values are influenced by high or low kilometers, vehicle condition, popularity, modifications that you've told us about, and accessories. These are considerations when reviewing if your vehicle is worth more than the average.

• Remember that the accessories and modifications you add to the vehicle are included in the ‘Agreed Value’, therefore consideration given to increasing the agreed value is based on these accessories.

• View vehicle sales sites – such as Gumtree, Carsales, and Redbook to understand what similar vehicles are being advertised for.

• Call us to discuss the sum insured as we have industry guides to assist in placing a value on your vehicle.

We hope these tips help take the worry out of protecting your belongings so you can spend more time relaxing and less time organising.