Suncorp Home Insurance claims: Assessment, repair and settlement guide 

Have you made a Suncorp Home Insurance claim recently but aren’t sure what happens next? Get to know the process – all the way from claim assessment to settlement. 

1. Emergency repairs 

If you’ve let us know that your property needs emergency repairs following an event covered by your policy, we’ll take care of that first. We'll help quickly arrange for a professional to come and complete temporary work to prevent further damage and keep you and your family safe – no matter what time of day or night.

2. Home claim assessment

What is a home claim assessment?

In many cases, a home claim assessment is needed to determine your claim’s outcome. Once you've made your claim, a builder or assessor from our network will contact you to arrange a time to attend your property. They’ll determine the cause and extent of the damage, and provide us with a report outlining recommended actions (called a ‘scope of works’) and estimated costs. 

Generally the assessment takes place in person at your property, but in some cases we may conduct a virtual assessment using pictures and videos.

How long does an assessment take?

Each claim is different, but a home claim assessment may take anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours, depending on the extent of the damage. The assessor will be able to give you a clearer indication when they call you to book the assessment.

3. Home insurance repairs and settling your claim

How we settle home building claims 

After the damage to your home has been assessed and we’ve reviewed the quote to make sure it's appropriate and reasonable for the scope of works, we’ll settle your claim by doing one of the following:

• If the amount of the assessed quote is less than your home sum insured, we’ll offer you the choice to have the home repaired or rebuilt (based off our builder’s recommendation). If you accept the offer, the builder we engage will complete the repair or rebuild on a ‘new for old’ basis. If you choose not to, you’ll paid the amount of the assessed quote. Keep in mind this amount may be less than what it would cost you to arrange the repairs or rebuild with your own builder as we're able to secure supplier discounts within our supplier network.
• If the amount of the assessed quote is equal to – or more than – your home sum insured, the damage won't be repaired or rebuilt and we’ll pay you the home sum insured shown on your certificate of insurance.

If a builder from our network is unable to complete the repair or rebuild, we’ll ask you to engage a builder to provide a scope of works and quote to repair or rebuild your home on a ‘new for old’ basis. We'll then review the quote to make sure it's appropriate and reasonable for the scope of works, and if it is, pay you the assessed amount. 

How we settle contents claims 

When your claim for loss, theft or damage to your contents is covered, your contents may be replaced, repaired or we may pay you. We will aim to use a member of our supplier network to repair or replace damaged contents. Sometimes this is not always possible or practical and this will determine how the contents claim will be settled. This will not be possible or practical where any of the following apply:

• There is pre-existing damage to your contents items, or it is unsafe to repair them.
• We do not have a supplier for the lost or damaged items, or we don't have a supplier available in your area.
• The lost or damaged items cannot be itemised or measured. For example, this could be items that have been completely destroyed, or clothing that needs to be fitted.
• There is no expertise available in Australia to repair the item. For example, with artwork.
• The contents are consumables or low value items.
• Replacements for the contents item or items are not available readily at a supplier, or suppliers, convenient to you.

We will tell you if this is the case and we will settle your claim by paying you. For more information on the payment process, refer to the PDS.

Explore Suncorp Home & Contents Insurance 

Repairing your home and contents 

Any repair or rebuild work that we authorise and arrange is covered by our lifetime guarantee. This means the quality of the workmanship is guaranteed for the lifetime of your home. You’re welcome to choose your own builder or supplier, but the lifetime guarantee won’t apply. 

When repairing or rebuilding your home, if we agree, you may choose to change the design of the home or upgrade parts of it, and can even choose to have the home rebuilt on another site, provided you pay the extra costs involved.

Plus, with our new Build It Back Better feature you might be eligible for resilience upgrades to help protect your home against future severe weather if it sustained more than $50,000 or 10% of the home sum insured (whichever is highest) worth of damage in an insured event. The upgrades are tiered according to the level of cover up to $10,000. Conditions and exclusions apply.

Stay up to date with your claim

The Suncorp Insurance App is a great way to stay up to date with how your claim is progressing. Receive real-time claim notifications, track your repairs, message your claim manager, upload and download documents and more – anytime, anywhere. 

Download the Suncorp Insurance App

What happens if I can't stay at home?

If your home can’t be lived in due to damage caused by an insured event, we’ll cover the reasonable cost of temporary accommodation for your household – and fur babies too of course! – while it’s being repaired or rebuilt. Limits, conditions and exclusions apply, so please refer to the PDS for more information.  

Need a little clarity on your coverage?

Home insurance can be confusing. That’s why we’ve created a visual guide to Suncorp Home and Contents Insurance to help answer your coverage questions, as well as outline what we do and don’t cover under our policies. 

Explore the Suncorp Home & Contents Insurance Guide

Read more:

• Does home insurance cover pool damage?
• Things you didn't know were covered by your home and contents insurance
• How to create a home inventory for insurance

Information provided in this article is a summary only. For full details including any limits, conditions and exclusions which may apply, please refer to the Product Disclosure Statement (and any applicable SPDS).

Insurance issued by AAI Limited ABN 48 005 297 807 trading as Suncorp Insurance. Read the Product Disclosure Statement before buying this insurance. The Target Market Determination is also available. This advice has been prepared without taking into account your particular objectives, financial situation or needs, so you should consider whether it is appropriate for you before acting on it.