Insuring your home & contents, investment home, business, farm or vehicle, and choosing the right insurance cover can be confusing and it is important that it is handled professionally.

At ResCom Insurance, our expertise and experience in Insurance Broking ensures that you will receive the correct policy or plan that is best suited to your requirements.

As general insurance brokers we have access to all the reputable insurance underwriters in Australia and overseas.

ResCom Insurance is a corporate authorised representative of Ausure Insurance & Finance – who are licensed insurance brokers and members of the National Insurance Brokers Association of Australia (NIBA). As such, we are able to offer our clients insurances for all classes of business.

For further information or a quote contact our Insurance Division on (03) 8699 8040 or email insurance@rescom.com.au and let ResCom Insurance help you

ResCom Insurance is a Corporate Authorised Representative (No 247871) of Ausure Insurance & Finance Pty Ltd AFSL: 238433

1.  When should I insure my property?
Upon signing a Contract of Sale it is recommended that buyers take out adequate insurance. In some instances the seller's insurance may have lapsed or the property may be underinsured. It is important to have an insurance policy in place to provide full protection against any damage that may occur.

2.  Why use a broker?
A Broker acts for you!
A broker acts in your interests not for the insurance company. A broker has access to many insurers to make sure you get the best cover at the price you want.

Many of the large insurers offer insurance direct to the public. Often these polices contain less cover and are cheaper than the type of polices a broker will generally sell. These polices may be suitable for certain situations, however insurance is a complicated financial product and how do you determine if the policy is right for you?

When purchasing a policy over the phone or the internet you should ask your insurer to advise you if their policy is suitable for your needs. In most cases call centre staff will sell you a policy but not comment on whether it is suitable for you. These companies expect that consumers are sufficiently informed and have the required expertise to select the appropriate product despite the fact that they do not send the terms of the policy until they have collected your money.

Quite often these products are sold via a call centre by call centre operators who may not have been trained to Tier 2 standards which ASIC has mandated as a minimum requirement before giving advice.

For hassle free claims
A Broker should help you with lodging and managing any claims, making it a friendly experience and to ensure prompt and fair settlement of your claims.

3.  What's not covered in my home insurance policy?
Depending on your policy, there may be a number of events and items that are not covered. Tsunami and Flood are examples of events that may not be insured under your policy. Items that may not be covered include building materials stored at the house or car parts in your garage. If you are unsure of your coverage you should question your broker.

4.  What is the Excess? Give me the price of my home insurance coverage with some different Excesses.
The higher the Excess (the portion of a claim that you have to pay), the lower the premium. Compare the premium with different excesses, and then decide whether the lower premium is worth the higher amount you would have to pay out of pocket if you had a claim.

5.  What are some items that might require additional insurance?
The dollar limits to some items can be relatively small, for example cash. Coverage limits may apply also for certain types of items eg: bicycles, jewellery, watches, computer, mobiles, coins, stamps and card collections. Often these limits can be increased at a minimal cost.

You should also consider whether you need your contents covered outside of your home. Some policies give you a small amount of cover for certain items outside the home as apart of a standard policy. With many policies you buy direct from insurers this type of cover costs extra.

6.  Am I entitled to any discounts and/or is there anything I can do to get a discount?
Many insurance companies offer discounts to policyholders who have newer homes, who have installed safety features like smoke detectors and burglar alarms, and who have made no claims for a certain period of time.

7.  On what basis are claims going to be paid?
Most claims on home policies are paid on a replacement cost basis, meaning that the insurance pays the cost of replacing the damaged or lost item with a new one that is as close to the original as possible in functionality and quality. However, some policies limit the circumstances when they will pay ‘new for old’. They may only pay you the indemnity value, which means replacement cost LESS depreciation.

8.  Should I make a claim with every loss?
Although this is a very personal decision, before making a home insurance claim consider the cost of the damage compared to your deductible. If the difference is negligible, you may choose not to make a claim, especially if it meant losing your "no claim discount" (if offered by your insurance company). Losing your no claims discount may increase your premiums.

9.  What kind of liability coverage do I have and how much?
Many policies include cover for unintentional property damage, bodily injuries and legal costs for which you are legally responsible for up to around $10 million. This cover is an important part of protecting your assets so ask your insurance representative about the specific coverage in your policy.

The information contained on this page is factual in nature and not intended to be financial advice. Any financial advice is general in nature and does not take into account your personal circumstances. You should consider the Product Disclosure Statement for a particular policy before you make a decision to buy the policy. Please contact us for a copy of a Product Disclosure Statement.

• Home Building
• Home Contents
• Specified Contents
• Valuables
• Motor Insurance
• Boat Insurance
• Caravan & Motor Home Insurance
• Travel Insurance

To decide if this product is right for you, please carefully read the Product Disclosure Statements, which are available by phoning (03) 8699 8040.

• Building Cover
• Content Cover
• Tenants Rent Default
• Mailicious Damage Cover
• Legal Liability Cover
• Legal Fees Cover
• Both Accidental & Defined Events Cover Available
  

To decide if this product is right for you, please carefully read the Product Disclosure Statements, which are available by phoning (03) 8699 8040.

• Commercial Property
  - Full retail & Manufacturing Business Packs
• Liability Cover
  - Broadform Wording, Public & Products Liability
• Strata Protection Plans
• Contract Work Cover
  - Owner Builders, Annual & Single Contracts
• Trade Insurance
  - For all Registered Trades People
• Professional Indemnity
  - For all Occupations
• Directors & Officers Liability

To decide if this product is right for you, please carefully read the Product Disclosure Statements, which are available by phoning (03) 8699 8040.

• Dairy Farms
• Beef & Sheep Farms
• Hobby Farms
• Horticulture/Viticulture
• Farm Machinery
• Farm Crops
• Livestock

To decide if this product is right for you, please carefully read the Product Disclosure Statements, which are available by phoning (03) 8699 8040.

• Life Cover
• Total & Pernament Disablement
• Trauma Cover
• Income Protection
• Mortgage Protection
• Superannuation

To decide if this product is right for you, please carefully read the Product Disclosure Statements, which are available by phoning (03) 8699 8040.

Ausure Insurance & Finance
Financial Services Guide (FSG)

Authorised Representative     
ResCom Insurance P/L      
As a Corporate Authorised Representative   
100 Park Street       
SOUTH MELBOURNE VIC 3205     
Phone: 03 8699 8000      
e-mail: insurance@rescom.com.au     

Ausure Insurance and Finance Pty Ltd
AFSL No: 238 433
ABN: 98 913 102 104 ACN: 096 971 854
PO Box 21
Cardiff NSW 2285
Phone: (02) 4948 1155
e-mail: ausure@ausure.com.au

The Financial Services Guide (FSG) provides you with information about Ausure Insurance & Finance Pty Ltd (Ausure) to help you decide whether or not to use the financial services that we provide.  In most cases you will receive a Product Disclosure Statement (PDS), which explains the significant features of the insurance policy before we arrange the policy.  The only time this will not happen is when due to time constraints it is not possible to get the PDS to you before we arrange the product for you. In these cases we will send the PDS within 5 days of arranging the product. You should consider the PDS in deciding whether to purchase the product.  We will also provide you with a invoice which will summarise the policies we have arranged on your behalf, our invoice will also disclose the exact amount of any remuneration we receive from arranging your retail financial product.  If you have any questions about how we earn our income please ask your broker.

About Ausure
Ausure is a licensed general insurance broker, holds an Australian Financial Services License (AFSL No 238433) and is responsible for the financial services you receive including the distribution of this FSG. Ausure is authorised to provide advice on and deal in general insurance products. 

About ResCom Insurance P/L
ResCom Insurance P/L operates an insurance brokerage as an authorised representative of Ausure. This means ResCom Insurance P/L provides the service to you however Ausure is responsible for their conduct. Ausure has authorised ResCom Insurance P/L to provide advice and deal in general insurance products. Ausure is responsible for the conduct of ResCom Insurance P/L.

How do we get paid?
We receive our remuneration in the form of fees and commission which we collect when you pay your premium. Our primary form of remuneration is commissions which is an amount of money paid to us by the insurer and varies between 0 and 22.5% of base premium (Premium less any taxes and charges) depending on the policy type and insurer. Sometimes we also charge fees as a part of our remuneration, these fees depend on the amount and type of work we perform and are always included in the price we quote you. If we refer you to a premium funding company we may receive up to 2% of the amount of the financing in commission. Some of the insurers that we do business with give benefits to us such as subsidized training, sponsorship of conferences and invitations to social business functions. We have a policy to deal with any potential conflicts of interest that means we have a documented plan that we continually monitor to ensure that our advice is not influenced by any considerations other than your best interests.

Please note that in the event of cancellation of a policy before the expiry date some Insurers make refunds of premiums based on a monthly or quarterly apportionments and therefore may also be a minimum charge. We do not refund fees that we have received. If premium funding has been arranged you may also be obliged to pay the interest component for the full year and other penalty charges by the premium funder. Before making any decision to cancel this policy you should consult us concerning the charges involved and commission and fees which may be retained by us.

Providing Advice
When we provide personal advice to you we will clearly inform you that we have taken into account the personal information you have told us in making our recommendation. We will also clearly inform you of the scope of our advice for example we may only provide advice on which product from our approved list is more appropriate for you.
To enable your broker to provide advice you need to supply full and correct details of the assets to be insured along with your personal objectives and financial situation. If you are unable or choose not to supply information your broker will be unable to make an effective recommendation and you will need to assess the appropriateness of the advice to ensure your insurance needs are properly met. You must also tell your broker about any relevant changes in your circumstances during the term of any insurance which has been arranged so that your broker can advise whether your insurance remains appropriate for your situation.

When we provide a more limited General Advice service to you we will clearly advice you that our advice is ‘general only’.  This means that we have not taken into account your personal circumstances, we have only considered the products and their providers in our recommendations. In these situations you must take care to consider whether this general advice is appropriate for your circumstances. You must read and understand the product disclosure statement to help you to decide if the product is right for you.

Important Relationships
Ausure Underwriting Pty Ltd ABN (51 121 066 180) and Ausure Premium Funding share common ownership with Ausure, Hollard Insurance is a minority shareholder of the Ausure Group. Although we (Ausure) usually act on your behalf, when we arrange a Hollard product we have authority to issue the policy which means we act on behalf of the insurer. Ausure Underwriting is remunerated in accordance with the performance of their portfolio of clients. In return for performing policy and claims administration it is entitled to receive a share of the profits which is calculated after deducting all costs including claims, reinsurance, admin expenses, insurers overheads etc.

How do we resolve complaints?
In the event that you have a complaint about the manner in which we provide any financial service please contact Ausure by phone on 02 4948 1155 or by writing at the address below.  If your complaint remains unresolved, Ausure’s dispute committee will review the matter and respond within 15 days.
Your complaint will be dealt with fairly and promptly but if you remain dissatisfied with the final decision you may refer the matter to the Insurance Brokers Dispute Limited (IBDLtd), which acts as Ausure’s external dispute resolution provider.  The IBDF is an independent body and its service is free to you.  IBDLtd can be contacted on 1300 780 808.  Ausure and ResCom Insurance P/L agree to accept the Scheme’s decision. We use personal information about you to provide you with financial services in accordance with our privacy policy.  We are committed to protecting your personal information in accordance with the National Privacy Principles.  A copy of our privacy policy is available on request.

Duty of Disclosure
You and everyone who is insured under this policy must comply with the duty of disclosure. You must ensure that you explain the duty to any other insured that apply for insurance on behalf of. Your duty of disclosure applies when you enter into the policy and upon any renewal or variation to the contract.
Where we act on behalf of the insurer you need to refer to the policy or the application form which will set out your obligations for disclosing information.
When we act for you it is important that you tell us every matter that you know or that a reasonable person in your circumstances would know that would be relevant to an insurers decision whether or not to insure you and on what terms. You have a duty to act in good faith towards the insurer, this means you must give honest and complete answers to each of the insurers question. You must disclose in answer to each question any matter that is known to you and which a reasonable person in the circumstances could be expected to have told the insurer in the circumstances. If you or any person under the policy do not comply with the duty the insurer may avoid the claim.

Other information
Where you purchase certain domestic insurance policies (home, motor, travel sickness and accident, consumer credit etc) as a retail client you will usually have a 14 day cooling off period. If you want to take advantage of a cooling off period you must inform us promptly so we can inform the insurer in writing. The insurer may retain its reasonable administration and transaction costs.
We will forward you an invoice for the premium along with the statutory charges and our fees. You must pay us by the due date on your invoice. We will hold your payment in trust pending our regular settlement with insurers and we retain the interest earned on this account. If you do not pay the premium on time we are obliged to advise the insurer who has the right to cancel your policy. The insurer also has the right to charge you for time on risk if you decide you do not want the policy after you have been insured for a period.

The Insurance Contracts Act sets out standard terms of cover for motor vehicle, home building, home contents, sickness and accident, consumer credit and travel. If an insurer wants to alter these terms they must clearly inform you in writing. If an insurer has an unusual clause in their contract they must inform you in writing or they are not able to rely on that clause to reduce a claim. Insurers do this by requiring us to provide you with a Product disclosure statement.
Ausure has in place a Professional Indemnity Policy to compensate persons who have suffered a loss or damage due to a breach of obligations by our Authorised Representatives.
Please keep this document along with your policy wording and invoice. This document will apply where we provide you services in the future. If this document becomes superseded we will supply a replacement document.