St George Home Insurance review; Is it worth it?

St George insurance can protect you from damage to your home or theft of your belongings. Home and contents insurance covers a number of events, but not all. Here’s my St George home insurance review..

Verdict: Automatic cover for flood and fire is a huge plus, you can make claims online 24/7, but you may be able to get cheaper insurance elsewhere.

Introduction

If you own a home, you will need to have insurance to protect your property. St George has insurance which is underwritten by Allianz. You can choose to insure the building only, both building and contents, or contents only. Contents only insurance is useful for people who do not own the building they live in, but want to protect their possessions. Unlike some insurance companies, St George Home insurance includes flood cover.

It is not clear whether you can opt out of coverage that you don’t need, so it is important to get a number of quotes and to read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement carefully before you choose your insurance.

For more info on Insurance, you can listen to my podcast with Katherine HERE.

CaptainFI is not a Financial Advisor and the information below is factual review information, not financial advice. This website is reader-supported, which means we may be paid by advertising on the site, or when you visit links to partner or featured sites. For more information please read my Privacy Policy, Terms of Use, and Financial Disclaimer.

What is covered under home insurance?

You can never know what will happen in the future and home insurance can save you a lot of money if your house gets accidental damage or is destroyed. Home insurance covers the cost of repairing or even replacing your home if the damage is very severe. As well as the house itself, some home insurance may cover legal costs if somebody happens to get injured while they are on your property.

In addition to home insurance, you should think about insuring your possessions. Contents insurance will cover all of the things inside your home and depending on the insurance policy, it may also include the stuff that you are using while you are away from your home. For more information about choosing the right insurance, read this article on Moneysmart.gov.au.

Another option is of course having a large enough Emergency Fund that you can draw upon to cover the cost of damage or loss of personal belongings. That’s what I choose to do. If you think the value of your belongings is less than or equal to what you have in your emergency fund, you may be wasting money on contents insurance. Read my article HERE about Wasting your money.

Who is the underwriter for St George home insurance?

The underwriter for St George home insurance is Allianz Australia Insurance Limited which is a global company with its head office in Europe. It also has an office in Sydney and can be contacted directly by phone as well as by email or through the website.

What are the different types of home insurance through St George?

St George offers three types of insurance. You can insure the building only (home insurance or building insurance), the contents of your home (contents insurance), or home and contents together. To find out the details of St George insurance, you should read the Home & Contents Insurance Product Disclosure Statement.

How much does St George home and contents insurance cost?

If you get your insurance online, then you will be eligible for a 10% discount. Obviously, the cost of insurance differs widely depending on where you live and what kind of home you have, as well as the type of insurance you opt for and the sum insured, so it is not easy to know how much it costs, as there are too many variables. Don’t forget, there will be a basic excess payable too – it will vary depending on whether you have chosen the excess amount, or in some cases it is chosen for you.

What does St George home and contents insurance cover?

Home and contents insurance covers quite a lot of different costly things that could happen to your home. They are natural disasters, with cover for storms, cyclones, and floods as well as for less common events such as earthquakes and tsunamis. You are also covered for theft, fire and smoke damage, impact damage, water damage, explosions, and vandalism. 

Your insurance also includes cover for riots or civil commotion. A lot of these disasters are never likely to happen to your home and you might want to opt out in order to reduce your insurance costs. It is not clear whether this is allowed with St George.

What does it NOT cover?

There are a few things that St George does not cover. One of the most important things you should know is that there is no underinsurance protection. Many people may find that when they come to make a claim they are underinsured.

See How To Know If You’re Underinsured And What To Do About It – realestate.com.au for more information about this important topic.

Although there are a lot of natural disasters that are covered, landslides are not one of them.

If you live in a mountainous or hilly area that gets a lot of rain, you might need this coverage. Pests, such as termites or rats, can do quite a lot of damage to your home before you realise it. Unfortunately, this is not covered by St George home insurance. You are also not covered for damage from tree roots if you have St George home insurance. I live in a leafy suburb and there are trees in my yard as well as my neighbours’ yards. Protection from damage by trees is something that would be needed by home owners or those with investment properties in my area.

The last thing that is not included in your Home and Contents insurance is loss or damage that occurs during a time that your home has not been occupied for more than 60 days. If you are the sort of person that goes on extended trips, then you will need insurance that covers you for those times. See this article to find out more about things that might not be covered by your Home and Contents insurance.

Is it easy to make a claim on St George home insurance?

Making a home insurance claim is very easy. You make a claim online here using the link or you can call Allianz on the number provided.

Does St George have insurance calculators?

Home Building and Home Contents calculators are on the website. They are both very easy to use. All you need to do is enter your address and other relevant information.

For the Home Building calculator, you will need to enter information about how many rooms and what size they are. It also asks for the materials that your home is made of and what kind of slope your house is positioned on. The more information you give the more accurate the calculation will be. Once you have done that, it will tell you how much it would cost to rebuild your home.

The Home Contents calculator also requires the address of your home as well as other details about the contents of your home. Then you can find out how much you would expect to insure your contents for. Neither of the calculators give you any idea of the actual cost of insurance. You would need to contact St George for that.

What are the benefits of choosing St George home insurance?

• St George Home insurance is underwritten by Allianz which is a large and reputable company with offices in Australia. You can feel secure with your choice of insurance.
• Because you will make your claims online, the service is available 24/7. You don’t have to wait for the weekend to be over or business hours to start.
• Unlike some other Home Insurance, your home is automatically covered for flood and fire.
• St George allows you to pay your insurance monthly or yearly.

What are the drawbacks to choosing St George home insurance?

• St George is paid a commission of 12% by Allianz. This makes your insurance cost higher. It is worth getting a quote from Allianz when you start looking for insurance.
• In order to get insurance, you will also have to have a bank account with St George.
• You don’t get to choose which disasters are covered by your insurance policy. It is not clear whether you can opt out of some coverage in order to reduce costs..
• St George does not offer underinsurance protection but some other companies do. It is always hard to know exactly how much you should insure your home and contents for and this protection could be useful. 

Is St.George home insurance worth it?

St George home insurance is definitely worth considering if you already have an account with St George. It seems to be competitively priced and it is underwritten by a reputable company. On the other hand, Canstar only gives St George 3 stars, while it gives 5 stars to a number of other companies.

As always, it is necessary to shop around before you make your decision.

Conclusion

If you decide to get insurance with St George, you will be able to choose Building only, Home and Contents, or Contents only. It is underwritten by Allianz and seems to be competitively priced. Most insurance companies provide slightly different coverage, so you will need to be careful in choosing your insurance. If you decide to use St George insurance, you will have cover for damage caused by a number of different events, but not all foreseeable events.

St George insurance might be a good choice for your circumstances, depending on your personal objectives, and it is well worth considering it, but it is very important to read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement before you make your decision.