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Huddle Comprehensive is an individual contents policy designed for owners of strata-titled homes. It can cover belongings and specified incidents, but it does not establish whether the strata scheme’s building and common property are adequately insured. Check what your owners corporation covers, then verify Huddle’s current policy wording, excesses and quote before deciding.
What does Huddle Comprehensive cover?
CHOICE describes Huddle as the insurer brand and The Hollard Insurance Company Pty Ltd as the provider. The policy is based on a contents sum insured nominated by the owner. CHOICE lists accidental damage as included, alongside insured events such as fire and bushfire, flood, storm and rainwater, tsunami, explosion, earthquake, theft, malicious damage, impact and sudden accidental escape of liquid. These events remain subject to the policy’s conditions, limits and exclusions. CHOICE’s Huddle review is a useful outline, not a substitute for the current Product Disclosure Statement (PDS).
The review also reports several limits and features that may affect whether the policy fits your household. Confirm each against the PDS edition applying to your quote or renewal.
| Feature reported by CHOICE | Reported limit or condition |
|---|---|
| Legal liability | Up to $20 million for named policyholders and family members living with them, for incidents in Australia. |
| Contents in the open air | Up to $8,000 overall and $2,000 per item. |
| Temporary accommodation | Up to 12 months or 20% of the sum insured. |
| Permanent fixtures | Fixtures not insurable by the body corporate, up to the sum insured. |
| Visitors’ contents | Up to $5,000 overall. |
| Contents replacement | New-for-old replacement is reported, with exceptions including clothing, computers over four years old, household linen, unused or stored items, and shoes. |
| Claims | Online and 24/7 phone claims are reported. Possible settlements include repair, replacement or payment, subject to the sum insured and applicable sublimits. |
These are reported policy details, not guaranteed outcomes for every claim. The PDS sets the operative definitions, exclusions and settlement rules.
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Is Huddle contents insurance suitable for strata owners?
It may be relevant if you own a strata-titled home and want cover for your own contents. It should not be treated as a replacement for the building insurance arranged for the strata scheme. In general, an owners corporation insures the building and common property under the rules applicable to the scheme and jurisdiction; the lot owner’s contents policy addresses the owner’s belongings and any specifically covered items. The exact boundary can depend on the property, scheme documents and policy wording.
Before seeking a quote, check the scheme’s certificate of currency and policy details, and ask the strata manager or owners corporation what is insured. Identify any fixtures or fittings that may fall outside the scheme’s cover. Huddle’s official site describes its contents product as intended for owners of strata-titled residential properties and directs customers to policy documents; consult its official site and the current PDS for product-specific terms.
Does strata insurance cover my contents?
Do not assume it does. Building and common-property cover arranged by the strata scheme is distinct from insurance for a lot owner’s personal belongings. Some fixtures may have ambiguous or scheme-specific treatment, and CHOICE reports Huddle covers permanent fixtures that the body corporate cannot insure, subject to the stated limit. Confirm what your scheme’s policy covers and how the Huddle wording defines contents and fixtures before relying on either policy.
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Which exclusions and excesses deserve close attention?
Water damage and weather events
CHOICE reports cover for flood, storm and rainwater, and sudden accidental escape of liquid from fixed pipes and some household items. It also lists a 72-hour waiting period for bushfire, flood and storm or rainwater. For flood claims, the reported excess is the greater of $500 or the basic excess. Check the current PDS for how the policy defines flood, storm damage and the start of a waiting period.
Important exclusions reported by CHOICE include gradual seepage or percolation into a building, wear and tear, inadequate drainage, faulty shower recesses and lack of routine maintenance. Storm surge and action of the sea are also listed as not covered. A sudden pipe failure and a slow leak may therefore be treated differently; a covered event label alone does not determine whether a particular claim qualifies.
Theft and other claim circumstances
CHOICE reports theft cover, but lists exclusions for theft by residents, theft by someone present with consent, and theft from common property. Check the policy wording for the definitions and circumstances that apply to your household, visitors and shared areas.
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Basic excess and policy limits
Compare the basic excess with event-specific excesses, including the flood excess, and consider whether you could afford them after a loss. Also check sublimits for valuables, outdoor contents, temporary accommodation and fixtures. A nominated sum insured does not necessarily mean every item is covered up to that amount: category limits and exclusions may apply.
How to assess whether the policy fits
- Establish what you need to insure. Make an inventory of belongings and estimate replacement costs. Ask the strata manager for the scheme’s current insurance documents and clarify treatment of fixtures.
- Check the Huddle PDS and eligibility. Confirm the document’s edition or effective date, that your property and circumstances are eligible, and the definitions that apply to contents and insured events.
- Test the exclusions against your risks. Pay particular attention to gradual water damage, flood, storm surge, theft circumstances and maintenance-related losses.
- Compare the financial limits. Review the basic and event-specific excesses, nominated sum insured, sublimits, new-for-old exceptions and available claim settlements.
- Get a current quote and compare like for like. Premiums and availability depend on location and circumstances. Compare current quotes using the same sum insured and similar excesses; the public information cited here does not establish a live premium or price ranking.
Is Huddle Comprehensive worth it?
The available public information is not enough to make an unqualified value or “best policy” judgment. CHOICE’s public review page gates its Expert Rating, cover score, price score, customer satisfaction score and recommended status behind membership, and no current comparable quote is established here. Your decision should turn on the current price for your situation, how the exclusions and excesses match your risks, and what the strata scheme already insures.
For broader context, a NSW Department of Customer Service statutory review cites a 2021 Deakin Business School study in which approximately 3.5% of surveyed strata managing agents said a scheme they managed was uninsured or had been uninsured in the preceding 12 months. The review also quotes the study as finding: “it is very evident that availability is problematic for strata schemes in the northern parts of Australia, for very large complex schemes, and schemes impacted by building defects, including combustible cladding”. This is market context, not evidence about Huddle’s contents policy or your scheme. NSW statutory review report.
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