At AAMI, we are always looking for ways to improve. So, we’ve updated the AAMI Home Contents Insurance Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) to incorporate more plain English principles (like more descriptive headings).
We’ve also made changes to the coverage in the policy. This involved altering or adding covers, conditions and exclusions. We have listed some changes below.
Given the below is just a summary and not a list of all changes, we strongly encourage you to read the PDS to understand your cover.
A PDS is an important legal document that covers the details of the cover you’ve purchased. As it’s a legal document, it’s important you read it carefully. Know these changes relate to policies starting or renewing on or after 24 January 2025.
Using our products for financial abuse is unacceptable
AAMI is committed to ensuring our products are not used for any form of financial abuse. You’ll see we have made clear our position that the use of our products for financial abuse is unacceptable.
We know sometimes your circumstances might mean you need additional support or assistance in dealing with us. If you’re comfortable, you can tell us about your situation, and we’ll work with you to arrange support.
Things to know upfront
This section has changed. We’ll let you know when and how you need to pay your excess.
Rest assured knowing we’ll always communicate when you need to pay any excess(es) to us. Alternatively, we’ll deduct the amount of any excess(es) from any cash payment we make.
What and where we cover – the basics
We’ve updated the coverage for when contents are insured in a unit to include your household items permanently attached to the unit, like an air conditioner, unless the item(s) is covered under an insurance policy taken out by any owners corporation or similar body and/or is required to be insured by any owners corporation or similar body under the strata or community title laws applicable to that state or territory.
Make sure that your contents sum insured meets your needs by checking with your body corporate, owners corporation, or similar body what is and isn’t covered by the policy taken out by them.
This doesn’t include items located in common property. Common property is any land or building at the insured address that is on a strata or community title which is required to be insured by the owners corporations or similar body under the relevant strata laws and/or is insured under an insurance policy taken out by them.
For example, if you have a washing machine within a communal laundry, it will not be covered for loss or damage under this policy.
General exclusions
We want to be upfront about things we don’t cover for loss or damage under your policy. There are some new and updated exclusions in the ‘General exclusions’ section of the PDS, such as:
- building works (this used to be called building extensions, alterations or renovations)
- hacking, cyber-attack, or cyber incident (this used to be called computer virus or computer hacking), and
- rust or corrosion (this used to be part of wear, tear and deterioration exclusion).
Please make sure to read the General Exclusions section of your PDS.
General exclusions also apply to legal liability, but this isn’t always the case. Your PDS will outline when a general exclusion also applies to legal liability.
What we cover – the details
There are many changes to the Escape of liquid clause, and we strongly encourage you to read this section of your PDS in full.
These changes include providing cover for sudden and unexpected loss or damage to contents caused by liquid escaping from a number of listed items.
We also now provide cover for loss or damage, caused by liquid escaping from the items listed in the PDS, that has occurred gradually when the loss or damage, that was occurring, wasn’t easily visible to a reasonable person in the circumstances.
There are also updates to things we don’t cover under Escape of liquid too. Please read the new PDS to see all of these changes, starting on page 51.
There are some changes to when and under what circumstances you’re covered for loss or damage caused by impact (or by power surge caused by impact).
You’re still covered for loss or damage to your contents due to a falling tree, or part of a falling tree including the roots, except when any of these are being carried in or moved by water or water is causing them to move.
For example, loss or damage to your contents (caused by impact) isn’t covered if the loss or damage is from a fallen tree being carried in a river.
We also won’t cover loss or damage to your contents caused by impact from any watercraft, aircraft, motor vehicles, or trailers if any of these are stationary. Please read the new PDS to see what has changed.
Additional cover that comes with your policy
We’ve added a new additional cover – Lock replacement. This offers cover for the necessary costs you incur to replace or recode locks to the external doors or windows of the building or unit at the insured address if the keys to those locks are stolen anywhere in Australia or New Zealand during the period of insurance.
The most we’ll pay for any one incident is $500. Read the PDS for more details on this cover.
We have introduced this new additional cover. Basically, when you have contents cover and you can’t live at the insured address while it’s being repaired or rebuilt, because of damage by an insured event, we’ll pay your reasonable temporary accommodation costs if you own and live in a unit.
If you’re a tenant who needs to move out temporarily, we’ll pay any reasonable extra rent costs for temporary accommodation. The most we’ll pay is 10% of the contents sum insured.
There are also some expenses we’ll cover related to temporary accommodation - read the PDS for more details.
Making a claim
We have removed the lifetime guarantee on authorised repairs from the PDS, and now follow the General Insurance (GI) Code of Practice.
This code, which commenced on 1 July 2021, provides universal benchmarks to adhere by. For example, if we have selected and directly authorised a repairer to repair your damaged property, then we will accept responsibility for the quality of their work and the materials they use, based on the standards outlined in this code.
Terms and words with special meanings (definitions)
Some terms and words in the policy have a special meaning (definition) which applies to them.
It’s important to read this section of the PDS because it gives the meaning which applies to those terms and words which can impact how your policy is interpreted.
There are new definitions in your PDS, including changes to existing ones such as: