Accidents happen

Posted 11 February, 2025 Sasha Oelsner

If you find yourself muttering Murphy’s Law, “What can go wrong, will go wrong” regularly, you may want to consider adding accidental damage cover to your Contents insurance policy.

You may be surprised what can be covered.

What is accidental damage cover?

Accidental damage cover is an optional cover you can add to your Home and Contents or Contents Insurance.

It may cover your contents if they’re accidentally damaged, lost or stolen in Australia or New Zealand.

What are ‘contents’ when they’re at home?

Contents is a nice way of saying your personal belongings that make the house your home. You might already have home and contents or contents insurance which means you may be covered if there’s damage to your home due to storms, burst pipes, fallen trees, fire, theft and other unforeseeable and unfortunate events.

But what if the event is… you?

If you’re notoriously accident-prone or live in a household with children and/or animals, taking out optional accidental damage for your contents may give you added peace of mind. So, what events and items can potentially be covered?

• Dropping your mobile phone in the toilet
  You’ve dropped your phone and putting it in rice isn’t helping. Accidental damage cover may cover personal technology that’s damaged unintentionally. This may include mobile phones going for a swim in the toilet, pool or other body of water, laptops spoiled by spilt coffee or a TV shattered by a thrown toy.

• Your little Vivaldi left their violin on the bus
  If the violin hasn’t been turned in at the bus depot and it’s lost, you may have the option to claim for the cost of a replacement. This may also include items stolen or lost when you’re outside of your home such as a bike stolen while it was secured at the train station, precious jewellery that’s accidentally fallen off, or your mobile phone that was rudely pinched.

• Sitting on your glasses
  Crunch! That sound was a timely reminder that your prescription glasses or sunglasses were in your back pocket. Accidental damage cover may cover irreparable damage to personal belongings that are damaged thanks to your clumsiness, or the clumsiness of someone else who accidentally damaged one of your items. This may include you crushing your spectacles, your precious puppy knocking over a vase, or if you accidentally back over your teenager’s bike they left in the driveway.

• Those red wine stains that won’t come out
  Getting a stylish white couch was risky. If you have accidental damage cover, you may be covered if items suffer stain damage and the cost to repair exceeds your excess. This may include damage caused by things like an upended wine bottle on the sofa or the tin of house paint that slipped out of your hand and splashed all over the carpet.

How do I get accidental damage cover?

Accidental damage cover is an optional extra, so the cover can be added to your existing contents policy at any time.

For example, with RAA Insurance you can choose cover up to $2000 or $5000 per claim. If you have very valuable items that you want specifically covered for a higher value, RAA also offers another optional cover for specific valuable items while you’re away from home.

When you’re ready to make a claim, make sure you provide plenty of relevant information to support your claim – and try not to sit on your glasses in the process.

_{Home and Contents Insurance is issued by RAA Insurance Ltd ABN 14 007 872 602 AFSL No. 232525. Optional cover only available in conjunction with RAA Contents Insurance. The maximum RAA will cover is the sum insured as shown on your certificate of insurance. Subject to exclusions and limitations. Other limitations may apply. Consider the Product Disclosure Statement and Target Market Determination available from the RAA website, when deciding whether to purchase this product.}