What is fire insurance?

Fire insurance should be included in all home and contents insurance policies. It can pay to repair or replace your home and your belongings if they are damaged by fire. It can also cover you for temporary accommodation if you can't stay in your damaged house. Keep in mind, for a fire to have occurred, there needs to be a flame present. Insurers don't generally cover other heat-related problems like scorching or melting.

Does home insurance cover bushfires?

Fire insurance also includes bushfires . However, you generally need to have held the home insurance policy for longer than 72 hours to be covered for bushfires.

Does home insurance cover accidental fires?

Yes it can but it's not always clear if home insurance policies will cover accidental fires. For example, many insurers will cover accidental fire damage under accidental damage. However, accidental damage isn't automatically covered by many policies. You need to pay extra for it.

Is fire damage covered by contents insurance?

Yes. Contents insurance covers you for damage to your belongings caused by fire, including bushfire. It may make sense to get contents insurance if you own an apartment, unit or townhouse. This is because your building is typically covered by strata.

Home fire insurance

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Finder score 9.2 Excellent Budget Direct Home & Contents Insurance Most LovedBonus	Finder score 9.2 Excellent	Optional add-on	Optional	Our verdict: The most popular insurer on Finder, Budget Direct prioritises low-cost cover and gives you up to 30% off your first year's premium for new combined Home & Contents policies purchased online.	Get a quote More info Compare product selectionCompare	loading
Finder score 8 Great Youi Building and Contents Insurance Most Loved	Finder score 8 Great		Optional	Our verdict: Finder’s 2022 Insurer of the Year for Customer Satisfaction and our Top Pick for Fire Damage cover. It’s good if you want a tailored quote over the phone.	Get a quote More info Compare product selectionCompare	loading
Finder score 9.5 Excellent Honey Home & Contents Insurance Bonus	Finder score 9.5 Excellent		Optional	Our verdict: Honey gives you $250 smart sensors to reduce accidents and estimates your rebuild costs for you.	Get a quote More info Compare product selectionCompare	loading
Finder score 9 Excellent Kogan Home & Contents Insurance Bonus	Finder score 9 Excellent		Optional	Our verdict: Get $100 Kogan.com credit, up to 10% off your first year's premium, and $10 monthly Kogan.com credit (valid on $100+ purchases) with new online Home & Contents Insurance. T&Cs apply.	Get a quote More info Compare product selectionCompare	loading
Finder score 9 Excellent QBE Home & Contents Insurance Bonus	Finder score 9 Excellent		Optional	Our verdict: Finder's Top Pick for Floods plus cover for other common claims such as fire and theft). Its discount is better than most – 20% off your first year with a combined policy.	Get a quote More info Compare product selectionCompare	loading
Finder score 8.1 Great Huddle Black Home and Contents Insurance	Finder score 8.1 Great			Our verdict: Save up to 10% on your policy in the first year.	Get a quote More info Compare product selectionCompare	loading
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All home insurance policies typically cover fires and bushfire damage.
Some can also cover accidental fires and soot damage from a bushfire.
You will need contents insurance to cover your belongings – not just home (building) insurance.

Finder's top home insurance pick for fires: Youi

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What we like about Youi:

In addition to cover for fires and bushfires, Youi is the only policy we looked at that specifies it covers:

accidental fires within 100 metres of your home,
soot or smoke damage from a bushfire
temporary accommodation if you're told by the local authorities to evacuate.

All home insurance policies typically cover fires but Youi's product disclosure statement (PDS) is much more detailed. Unlike others, it clearly specifies you're covered for accidental fires, including fires caused directly by mechanical or electrical failures. Some other insurers don't cover this automatically.

Finder survey: Do Australians have home insurance for fire protection?

Response	Female	Male
Fire protection	30.17%	29.14%

Source: Finder survey by Pure Profile of 1113 Australians, December 2023

What does a home insurance policy cover you for?

Fire insurance generally covers you for loss or damage caused by: fire, bushfires and grass fires and smoke.

Here's how different parts of a home insurance policy can help if your property is affected by fire.

Building insurance
Contents insurance

Home

Home (building) insurance:

Repairing or rebuilding your home
Temporary accommodation. For example, if your house isn't safe to stay in after a fire.
Demolishing the destroyed house and/or removing debris
Regulatory fees related to building construction
Professional services like surveyors and architects

contents insurance

Contents insurance:

Repairing or replacing your damaged items
Storing your undamaged belongings if they can't stay at the property
Removing and disposing of undamaged contents

How to lodge a claim after a fire

When you are ready to claim after a fire, here's 4 things you need to do:

Contact your insurer.

Let them know ASAP so that they can assess the damage.

Gather evidence.

Take photos of the damage, get the police report and make a list of what you lost in the fire. Try to locate proof of ownership of the items you lost.

Lodge your claim.

Fill this out on the insurer's website and send it back to them along with the evidence you've gathered.

Wait for the results.

If your claim is accepted, your insurer will pay to repair or replace whatever is covered by your policy. If your claim is denied, you have the right to several rounds of appeals, first through the insurer's internal disputes department and then through the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).

How common are fire insurance claims?

According to an April 2022 Finder survey, the joint top 3 home insurance claims were for fire (4%), hail (4%) and mould (4%).

What fire insurance doesn't cover

Here are some reasons an insurer could deny your claim:

A bushfire occurs within 48–72 hours of you buying your policy (the argument is that you could have bought your insurance only after you found out your home was in the path of an existing fire).
Damage from ash, soot or smoke caused by a fire away from your home (you'll only be covered for ash, soot and smoke if the fire damaged your house).
Your house didn't comply with fire regulations (for example, you have a wood heater that was not installed according to regulations).
The fire was intentional.
It was caused by negligence.
There was no flame.

FAQs about fire insurance

Fire insurance should be included in all home and contents insurance policies. It can pay to repair or replace your home and your belongings if they are damaged by fire. It can also cover you for temporary accommodation if you can't stay in your damaged house.
Keep in mind, for a fire to have occurred, there needs to be a flame present. Insurers don't generally cover other heat-related problems like scorching or melting.

Thank you for your feedback!

Written by

Gary Ross Hunter

Journalist

Gary Ross Hunter has over 6 years of expertise writing about insurance, including life, health, home, and car insurance. Having reviewed hundreds of product disclosure statements and published over 800 articles, he loves simplifying complex insurance topics for everyday readers. Gary has contributed to major outlets like Yahoo Finance, The Sydney Morning Herald, and news.com.au, and holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in English Literature from the University of Glasgow, along with a Tier 2 General Advice certification, ensuring his work adheres to ASIC’s RG146 standards. See full bio

Gary Ross's expertise

Gary Ross has written 590 Finder guides across topics including:

Health, home, life, car, pet and travel insurance
Managing the cost of living

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Home fire insurance

All home insurance policies cover fire damage but some also include accidental fire and soot damage from a bushfire.

Key takeaways