Reading through insurance papers, filling out a quote request or deciding if an insurance is right for you can be a hassle due the many industry specific terms used.

Below we have listed many common words and phrases used in the insurance industry and explained their meaning. We hope this will help you to better understand your current insurances and makes choosing the right insurance in the future much easier for you.

If you are still unsure about any wording in regards to any of our insurances please contact us on 1300 733 420 and our customer service team will be happy to assist. 

A

ASIC. Australian Insurance & Investment Commission, a Government body that regulates the financial market and services.

B

Building. Covers your ‘building’ and many of the fixed structures of your property (but not all) like pools, fences, paths.

C

Conditions. They’re the duties and obligations you need to abide. If you don’t, a claim can be denied.

Certificate of Insurance. It shows what you’re covered for and for how long. Always good to check this carefully so there are no surprises.

Contents Insurance. Covers your belongings – the things you would take with you if you moved (often including your carpets).

Cover Note. A temporary document that confirms coverage of your property before your payment has been processed and the policy documents have been issued. (will only be valid if payment of the policy premium will be received within a certain period)

D

Defined events. These are specific natural or man made occurrences that insurers will cover, like floods, storm, animal damage or theft.

Duty of Disclosure. Simply put, you need to tell the truth! If not, a claim can be denied.

E

Emergency. A sudden and unexpected event occurring during the period of cover of the relevant policy holder. (Please see the relevant product disclosure statement for details)

Excess. It’s the amount you agree to pay when you claim. The amount is usually deducted from the amount paid by the insurer after a claim.

Exclusions. All insurers have them. These could relate the type of asset, your role in it, and what may happen to it!

F

Features. These are ways in which we will help settle a claim. So it’s not just about replacing an item, or rebuilding a building, it’s the other ‘costs’ associated, like rebuilding fees, paying for temporary accommodation etc.

FSG. Financial Services Guide, a document outlining what services an insurer provides, how they get paid, how they deal with customer complaints and what associations they have that might influence them.

G

General Insurance Code of Practice. It’s the industry code and includes standards of customer service. www.codeofpractice.com.au.

H 

I

J

K

L

Landlord. Or Property Investor, a person who owns an investment rental property.

M

Malicious damage. Malicious damage means intentionally caused damage to property.

N

O

P

Policy. It’s a contract between the insurer and the person being insured.

Policy Owner. It’s the person who will act on behalf of all people covered by the policy and is the only person that can make any changes to it.

Premium. Premium is the money a policy owner pays for cover.

Product Disclosure Statement. It outlines cover, conditions, features and all the fine details. A must read when taking out insurance to ensure you get what you need.

Period of insurance. It’s the term your insurance policy is valid for.

Q

R

Repair or replacement. If a claim is made an insurer can simply just repair or replace an item.

S

Strata Title Mortgage Protection. This insurance applies to subdivided properties such as strata title units. The insurer covers the unit or part of the building that you own for accidental damage or loss in case the body corporate has either under insured or not insured the building complex for the amount required to pay out your mortgage.  

Subrogation. An insurance company recouping expenses for a claim it has paid out when another party should have been responsible for paying at least a portion of that claim.

Sum Insured. The maximum amount payable to you by your insurer in the event of a claim.

T

U

Underinsured. Depending on the insurance you choose the sum insured might be too low or cover options important for your property have not been chosen. It means if something happens, you won’t have maximum coverage for the cost to replace or repair it. (According to ASIC, apparently up to 81% of Australians are underinsured).

Underwriter. An underwriter is employed by an insurance company to decide whether to accept a risk and calculate the premium to be charged. Underwriting then, is the method that an underwriter uses to determine what kind of risk your details are and what would be a fair charge if your risk is deemed worthwhile by the insurance company.

V

Valuables. These are the items that you want to tell your insurer about so if something happens to them you can be covered extra for them.

W

X

Y

You. Actually it means more than you. It means you and all of the people named as ‘the insured’ on your Certificate of Insurance.

Z

Disclaimer
Please note the meaning of the terms described above may be used and interpreted differently by other insurance providers. Although the information found on this page is believed to be reliable, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made regarding the accuracy, adequacy, completeness, legality, reliability, or usefulness of any information, either isolated or in the aggregate. The information is provided "as is". All warranties of any kind, express or implied are disclaimed. Changes may be periodically made to the information; these changes may or may not be incorporated into this site. If you believe there are errors please report them to us by e-mail to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it