Are kitchen appliances covered by contents insurance? (2024)

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Are kitchen appliances covered by contents insurance? (1)

Mark Bristow

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3

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Are kitchen appliances covered by contents insurance? (2)

Key highlights

  • Understand the difference between home insurance and contents insurance, with the former covering the physical structure and the latter covering possessions inside the property.
  • Kitchen appliances can be considered contents if they are movable goods, but may be classified as fixtures if they are physically attached to the home.
  • Some appliances may fall into a grey area, such as built-in fridges that are not hard-wired, requiring clarification from the insurer.
  • Many kitchen appliances count as part of your home’s contents for insurance purposes. However, some insurers could consider certain built-in appliances to be part of your building, meaning they may only be covered under a building insurance policy.

    What’s the difference between home insurance and contents insurance?

    Home insurance is sometimes called home-only insurance or building insurance. These policies only cover the physical structure of your property if it is damaged or destroyed by an insured event. Other permanent structures on your property may also be covered under a home insurance policy, such as your fences, sheds, and swimming pools.

    Contents insurance covers the possessions you keep inside your property, such as your clothes, electronics, furniture, books, and more. If these contents are lost, stolen, damaged or destroyed in an insured event, the insurer can have your possessions repaired or replaced, often with new-for-old replacements.

    Depending on your situation, you may be in the market for a home-only insurance policy, a contents-only insurance policy, or a combined home and contents insurance policy. For example, landlords may only take out home insurance policies on their investment properties, while their tenants may take out their own contents-only insurance policies on the possessions kept inside their rented home.

    Are kitchen appliances considered contents?

    It's often clear what should be covered under the home or contents insurance policy. For example, if your roof collapsed, home insurance would cover the cost of repairs, while if a burglar stole your TV, replacing it should be covered under contents insurance.

    Many kitchen appliances may be considered contents, as they’re movable goods that you keep in your home. A freestanding fridge or cooker may be covered by your contents insurance policy if they were to experience damage in an insured event, such as fusion damage following an electrical storm or power surge.

    But sometimes it’s not quite so clear. Insurers may define different types of kitchen appliances as eitherFixtures or Fittings, which will affect whether they should be covered by your home or contents insurance.

    Fixtures

    If a kitchen appliance is physically attached to your home (e.g. bolted, nailed or glued into place), hard-wired into the mains power, or plumbed into the water supply, and you likely won’t consider taking it with you when you move out, it may be considered a fixture. This could include built-in air conditioners, ceiling fans, cooktops, and the like.

    As fixtures are considered to be part of the home itself, they will often be covered as part of your building insurance policy, rather than being considered contents.

    Fittings

    Kitchen appliances that are only semi-attached to your home and are capable of being removed may be considered fittings by your insurer. This means they may be considered contents, and covered under a contents insurance policy.

    Some insurers (though not all) also consider carpets, blinds and curtains to be fittings, rather than fixtures – even though these are often attached to the home, they can still be removed, and thus may be counted as part of your home’s contents.

    Some kitchen appliances may occupy something of a grey area. For example, some fridges may be built into your kitchen’s cabinets, but if they haven’t also been hard-wired into your home’s power supply, the insurer may still consider them fittings rather than fixtures.

    If you’re uncertain whether a specific kitchen appliance may be counted as part of your home insurance or your contents insurance, read your PDS and/or contact your insurer.

    Compare home insurance

    Provider

    Storm, fire & theftFloodUnderinsure protection

    Included

    Included

    Optional

    More details

    Product info

    Contents Cover
    • Flexible excess
    • 24 hours claim lodgement

    Are kitchen appliances covered by contents insurance? (6)

    Included

    Included

    Optional

    Product info

    Are kitchen appliances covered by contents insurance? (7)

    Contents Cover
    • Flexible excess
    • 24 hours claim lodgement
    • Combined policy discount

    Are kitchen appliances covered by contents insurance? (8)

    Included

    Included

    Optional

    Product info

    Are kitchen appliances covered by contents insurance? (9)

    Basic Contents
    • Flexible excess
    • 24 hours claim lodgement
    • Combined policy discount

    Are kitchen appliances covered by contents insurance? (10)

    Included

    Included

    Optional

    Product info

    Are kitchen appliances covered by contents insurance? (11)

    Comprehensive Contents
    • Flexible excess
    • 24 hours claim lodgement
    • Combined policy discount

    Product database updated 27 May, 2024

    This article was reviewed by

    External Comms Lead

    Eden Radford

    before it was published as part of RateCity's Fact Check process.

    Mark Bristow

    Are kitchen appliances covered by contents insurance? (13)

    Personal Finance Editor

    Mark Bristow is RateCity's Home & Personal Finances Editor, and an experienced analyst, researcher, and producer. Focused primarily on Australian mortgage and home loan expertise, he has been a journalist and writer in the financial space for over ten years, previously researching and writing commercial real estate at CoreLogic. In the years since, Mark has worked for the Winning Group, Expedia, and has seen articles published at Lifehacker and Business Insider.

    Mark Bristow is RateCity's Home & Personal Finances Editor, and an experienced analyst, researcher, and producer. Focused primarily on Australian mortgage and home loan expertise, he has been a journalist and writer in the financial space for over ten years, previously researching and writing commercial real estate at CoreLogic. In the years since, Mark has worked for the Winning Group, Expedia, and has seen articles published at Lifehacker and Business Insider.

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    Home & Contents

    • Flexible excess
    • 24 hours claim lodgement

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    Home and Contents

    Combined policy discount

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    • Flexible excess
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    • Combined policy discount

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    Basic

    • Flexible excess
    • 24 hours claim lodgement
    • Combined policy discount

    Policy type

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    Combined policy discount

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    Comprehensive

    • Flexible excess
    • 24 hours claim lodgement
    • Combined policy discount

    Policy type

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    Combined policy discount

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    Are kitchen appliances covered by contents insurance? (22)

    Product data updated on 27 May 2024

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    FAQs

    Are kitchen appliances covered by contents insurance? ›

    Yes, personal property coverage under a typical homeowners insurance plan also covers appliances within a home. A homeowners insurance plan will generally replace damaged or stolen appliances based on the item's actual cash value at the time of the event, taking depreciation from the date of purchase into account.

    Are kitchen appliances included in contents insurance? ›

    Contents includes anything that can be carried away from the building. They are typically personal belongings purchased separately from the building. For instance, furniture, appliances, artwork, electronics and clothing are all contents.

    Does content insurance cover appliances? ›

    Yes. Your contents cover does include kitchen appliances that are free standing, such as washing machines. But if your appliance is built in, it will be covered under your buildings insurance. There's no cover for your washing machine if it breaks down.

    Does contents insurance cover a kitchen? ›

    Contents insurance covers items found in your kitchen; like fridges, microwaves, cookware, or cooking utensils, if they are stolen, damaged or destroyed by a listed event on your policy. These policies usually do not cover the fit-out of your kitchen.

    Are fridges covered under contents insurance? ›

    What's Contents Insurance? RACV Contents Insurance covers the cost to repair or replace things you keep inside your home that have been damaged as a result of an insured event. It includes furniture and rugs, fridges, washing machines, TVs and more.

    What is not included in contents insurance? ›

    Most contents insurance doesn't include cover for accidental damage. It may be worth adding this if you want cover for mishaps, such as staining your couch or smashing a vase. Also check what isn't covered, for example, damage to clothing or computers.

    What items should be included in contents insurance? ›

    Protect your belongings in your home against things like flood, fire and theft. Contents insurance protects the things that make your home feel like yours. This includes your bed, sofa, computer, clothes and jewellery. If you ever lost all your possessions in a fire or flood, it would cost a lot to replace them.

    Is oven part of contents insurance? ›

    Kitchen appliances can be considered contents if they are movable goods, but may be classified as fixtures if they are physically attached to the home. Some appliances may fall into a grey area, such as built-in fridges that are not hard-wired, requiring clarification from the insurer.

    Does contents insurance cover a dishwasher? ›

    Contents insurance covers the belongings inside your home, including furniture, whitegoods, electrical appliances, clothing, and more.

    What is the best insurance for home appliances? ›

    Our pick for the best cheap appliance insurance is Liberty Home Guard, followed by American Home Shield, AFC and more. Monthly fees can range from as low as $10 a month to $100 a month while service fees can range from $65 to $125. Appliance repairs can run expensive depending on the appliance type.

    What does a contents policy cover? ›

    Personal property coverage — also known as contents coverage on a home policy — helps cover the cost of your personal items if they are destroyed, damaged, or stolen due to a covered loss or peril. Personal property includes things like furniture, clothing, electronics, and kitchenware.

    Does home insurance cover a broken dishwasher? ›

    Homeowners, condo, and renters insurance may cover appliances when a covered peril, such as a fire or theft, caused the damage. Insurance generally doesn't cover wear and tear damage or manufacturer defects. Optional coverage for electrical and mechanical breakdowns may be available through your home insurance policy.

    Does contents insurance cover items outside the home? ›

    What is home contents insurance. Home contents insurance covers you against loss, theft or damage to your personal and home possessions. It can also cover you if you take items out of the home, on holiday, for example. The insurance covers your own possessions and those of close family members living with you.

    Are appliances considered contents? ›

    What is covered by personal property insurance? Your home contents insurance applies to everything you own that resides within the walls of your home or apartment — your clothes, TV and other electronics, furniture, appliances, and so on.

    Is my washing machine covered in contents insurance? ›

    A standard home contents insurance policy will cover your appliances if they are damaged or destroyed in a fire, storm, flood, or other natural disaster, or if they're stolen.

    Are kitchen appliances included when buying a house? ›

    Home appliances are sometimes included with a home if they are built in. You may need to negotiate for other appliances. It's important to understand what your home purchase contract says about appliances.

    What contents coverage includes? ›

    Personal property coverage — also known as contents coverage on a home policy — helps cover the cost of your personal items if they are destroyed, damaged, or stolen due to a covered loss or peril. Personal property includes things like furniture, clothing, electronics, and kitchenware.

    Does contents insurance cover food? ›

    This will cover any cash that you keep at home against theft or damage. Credit cards aren't covered – cover for these is separate. If your fridge or freezer fails or breaks down and food is spoiled, this covers you for the costs of replacing the contents.

    Does homeowners insurance cover electronics? ›

    Standard homeowners and renters insurance policies cover the loss or damage of electronic devices in the event of named perils—but not negligence or simple wear-and-tear. Personal property coverage—aka Coverage C—protects your items against named perils even if they're lost or damaged outside the home.

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