Understanding an insurance event

The word ‘event’ is commonly used in insurance to describe a sudden, accidental and unforeseen situation that may have caused damage to your property. The event may mean that you need to make a claim with your insurer. Here’s some information and a few examples to help you understand what is considered an event in insurance.

What is an insurance ‘event’?

In insurance, an event is something unexpected and unintended that happens suddenly and accidentally, causing physical loss or damage. Your insurance policy is designed to cover you for such events by helping you recover, putting you back to the same position you were in before the event. All insurers define event differently, and some polices may exclude particular events, so it's important to understand what your particular policy covers.

Examples of an event

Thieves broke into Maia’s locked garage and stole her e-bike and new surfboard. She bought her bike for $3,500 and paid $450 for the surfboard, bringing the total claim up to $3,950. The excess on her contents insurance policy was $400, so she decided to make a claim. Because the loss was due to one event – an unforeseen break-in – we accepted the claim. They paid their excess upfront and their e-bike and surfboard were replaced new for old.

Arlo accidentally scratched the right-hand side of his car on a bollard in the parking lot. A few days later, he accidentally rear-ended another vehicle on his way to work. He decided to make a claim on his insurance for the rear-end collision. His car insurance provider accepted the claim, he paid his excess, and they repaired the damage to the back of his car and to the other car that he caused damage to. As the scratch on the side of his vehicle happened on a different occasion, it is considered a separate event. Arlo chose not to make a claim for this event as another excess would apply, so it was not repaired. Although they were only days apart, these two incidents count as two events.

Joe’s car was stolen with his backpack, laptop and gym bag inside it, leading him to make a claim on both his car and contents insurance policies. He was a customer with AA Insurance and his claims were both related to this one event – his car being stolen - so he received our ‘one event, one excess’ benefit. The benefit meant he only needed to pay one excess – the highest of the two which, in his case, was the $500 excess he had on his car insurance.

Key takeaways

An insurance event is a sudden, accidental, and unforeseen occurrence that causes loss or damage that you didn’t intend or expect. You can make a claim on your insurance for events covered under the terms of your policy. It’s important to familiarise yourself with your policy wording so that you know what’s covered and what’s not and whether any event limits apply.