Two-storey brick house with timber framing, the kind of owner-occupied home Tank arranges building and contents insurance for

Home & Contents Insurance

For the houses a quote form cannot describe. Two dwellings on one title, a build or subdivision still in progress, an empty new build, renovations planned, a rebuild cost above a million, or a home held in a trust. We take the house to the markets that write it and come back with terms.

$2.4-9K

Recent placed premiums, $500K-$1.7M homes

2 on 1

Two dwellings, one title, insured

24-72h

With all information in hand

Recognition

THE SHORT ANSWER

Tank arranges home and contents insurance for owner-occupied houses that the direct market declines or splits into two policies: two dwellings on one title, a build or subdivision still in progress, a new build sitting empty until move-in, renovations planned, a rebuild cost above about $1 million, or a home held in a trust or company. A straightforward suburban house is usually placed well by the direct insurers.

The difference is market access and presentation. On the recent placements below, between two and five markets quoted the same house and the highest quote ran to as much as roughly twice the lowest, and on several individual placements a market declined outright on unoccupancy, renovations or the number of dwellings. Cover depends on the policy wording and the insurer's underwriting in each case.

WHICH SITUATION IS YOURS?

The home situations we place

Each page explains how that policy gets structured, which markets tend to write it, and what recent placements cost. For the numbers in one place, see the home insurance cost guide.

Two dwellings on one title, you live in one

Owner upstairs and family or a tenant downstairs, or two houses on one lot. One policy or two, and who writes it.

Subdivision still in progress

Two homes on one title until the plan registers. Who is insured before and after the split.

New build handed over, nobody living in it yet

The lender wants cover from handover and the house sits empty until move-in.

Renovations planned in the next 12 months

What counts as a renovation to an insurer, and when contract works cover is the right policy instead.

Sum insured above $1 million

Why rebuild cost is not market value, where the direct market stops, and what a higher excess buys.

Home held in a trust or company

Who the insured is, why a person's date of birth is still asked for, and how the lender is noted.

You live above your own shop or business

A home policy stops at the shop. The building needs a mixed-use policy with the residence attached.

You rent the property out

Landlord cover, loss of rent and the situations we place most for investors.

When to buy direct, and when to call us

A single dwelling on its own title, built after the 1970s, with nobody renovating it and a rebuild cost comfortably under a million, is usually placed well by the direct insurers. They price that house well, and a broker adds a step it does not need.

Call us when the house has a feature the online form cannot hold. A second dwelling. A subdivision or a build that is not finished. A handover with nobody living there yet. Work planned for next year. A rebuild cost the direct products cap out below. A trust or company on the title. These are the homes that come back declined, or quoted as two policies, or quoted high because the form forced a wrong answer.

What we do with them is presentation and market access. The house goes to the insurers that write that situation every day, described exactly as it stands, with the lender, the occupancy and the works declared. On recent placements the spread between the highest and lowest quote on the same house ran up to roughly two to one. That gap is what a market test finds.

Start with the address

Large two-storey house in brick and weatherboard, a mixed-construction home that needs its rebuild cost set properly for insurance

WHAT WE'LL ASK

The house questions insurers ask first

The enquiry form asks for the address, the sums insured and how to reach you. After it sends, you can add the rest in one go, or we cover it on the call. Either way, this is the list, so nothing comes as a surprise.

01 The address, the year the house was built, and what the walls, roof and floors are made of
02 Bedrooms, bathrooms, storeys, garage or carport, solar panels, swimming pool
03 Whether it has been rewired or replumbed, and roughly when; whether asbestos is present
04 Smoke alarms, extinguishers, deadlocks, window locks, alarm or cameras
05 The rebuild cost you want the building insured for, and a contents figure if you want contents
06 Any renovations planned in the next twelve months, and any claims in the last five years
07 Your lender, if there is one, and the date cover needs to start

HOME INSURANCE QUOTE

Tell us what the quote form couldn't

Address, rebuild cost and a line on what makes the house different. We'll come back with terms from the markets that write it.

Open quote form

CLIENT SUCCESS

Three Houses, Three Reasons the Online Form Would Have Got It Wrong

Recent Tank placements, anonymised. Premiums are approximate gross figures and reflect each risk at the time, not a guide to future pricing or turnaround.

01 A $1.21 million house, five markets quoting, a lender added the same day

An owner-occupied house in Melbourne's outer east with a building sum insured of $1.21 million and $162,000 of contents. The cover had lapsed and needed replacing quickly.

Five markets quoted, from around $3,000 to around $4,700 for the same house. The client took the lowest at a $1,000 building excess and asked for the lender to be added as an interested party; the amended certificate of currency was issued the same day.

THE RESULT:

Placed with Allianz at approximately $3,300 a year for building and contents.

02 A new build handed over, empty until move-in, cover required by the lender

A builder handed over a new two-dwelling property on the NSW south coast with a $1.7 million rebuild value. The lender required building cover from handover while the subdivision into two titles was still running, and nobody was living there yet.

Four markets declined on unoccupancy alone. The risk was presented with the handover date, the lender's requirement and the plan for the split.

THE RESULT:

Placed with Castle at approximately $9,000 a year, building only, with the lender noted, and structured so it can be split into two policies when the titles register.

03 Pool, solar and a $1.1 million rebuild, quoted four ways

A 1990 house in Sydney's north-west, five bedrooms, swimming pool, a large solar array and a double garage, insured for $1.1 million with $70,000 of contents. The owner had been with the one insurer for six years and wanted the renewal tested.

Four markets quoted from around $3,800 to around $7,900. Same house, same sums insured, twice the premium between the highest and the lowest.

THE RESULT:

Placed with Castle at approximately $3,800 a year.

Premiums and outcomes described are specific to each client and indicative only. Your own terms will depend on your circumstances and the insurer.

HOME INSURANCE FAQS

Common Questions About Home and Contents Cover Through a Broker

01 Is a broker the cheaper way to buy home insurance?

Not for a straightforward house. The direct insurers price a standard suburban home well and you can buy it online in minutes. Where a broker earns the call is when the house has something a quote form cannot describe: two dwellings on one title, a subdivision or build still in progress, an empty new build, planned renovations, a rebuild cost above about $1 million, or ownership through a trust or company. Those are the homes that come back declined or split into two policies, and they are what this page is about.

02 I need a certificate of currency for settlement this week. Can you do it?

With all the information in hand, cover can be arranged in as little as 24 hours; usually it takes 48 to 72 hours. The certificate of currency follows as soon as the policy is bound, not before, and it will show the lender as interested party if you give us the lender's exact name with the enquiry. Send the settlement date in the form and it is prioritised. If you are settling tomorrow, call us first on 02 9000 1155.

03 What do you need from me to quote a house?

The list above: address and year built, construction, bedrooms and bathrooms, garage, pool and solar, whether it has been rewired or replumbed, the protections in place, the rebuild cost, a contents figure if you want contents, planned renovations, claims in the last five years, the lender and the start date. If the policy will be in personal names, insurers also rate it on the date of birth of the oldest insured. Send the enquiry with what you have and add the rest on the quote-details step that follows, or on the call.

04 There are two dwellings on my title and I live in one. Is that a home policy or a landlord policy?

It depends on who lives in the second one. Owner in one dwelling and family in the other, rent free, can usually sit on a home policy that declares both. Owner in one and a paying tenant in the other is a home policy on your side and a landlord element on theirs, and not every home product accepts a tenanted dwelling on the title. Two freestanding houses on one lot are the harder version: some markets will write both on one policy, others want one policy per dwelling. The owner-occupied dual occupancy page works through each case.

05 Does contents cover come with the building policy?

Only if you ask for it. Building and contents are two sums insured on the one policy, or two policies with two insurers where that prices better. A contents-only policy on its own is common for renters and for owners whose building is insured elsewhere; a recent contents-only placement of $80,000 in a 1950s house on Sydney's northern beaches landed at around $900 a year after three markets quoted.

06 The house is owned by our family trust. Whose name goes on the policy?

The trustee, as trustee for the trust, exactly as it appears on the title, with the lender noted as an interested party. A policy in a family member's personal name insures someone who does not own the building. Insurers still ask for a director's or trustee's date of birth to rate it. The trust or company owned home page covers the wording.

07 Will planned renovations stop me getting cover?

They can narrow the field. On one recent placement three markets declined on upcoming renovations alone and two quoted. What matters is what the work is (structural, roof or an extension is different from paint and a kitchen), when it starts, and whether a builder's contract works policy will cover the works themselves. Declare it before you bind. A renovation the insurer did not know about surfaces at claim time. See home insurance with renovations planned.