He may look innocent but nothing is safe around my six month old border collie pup

From pet damage to broken screens and holes in the wall – more than half of insured Australians would rather pay out of pocket than claim on the policy they’re already paying for.

Comparison website Compare the Market surveyed over 1000 Aussies to uncover the most common types of accidental damage and how much repairs cost households across the country.

Queensland had the highest average claim cost and coverage at $3405 — $448 more than the national average.

But the state least likely to lodge a claim was Western Australia, where 61 per cent of respondents said they didn’t bother.

Source: Compare the Market

Victorian policyholders (56%) were the second least likely to lodge a claim, followed by Queensland (55%), South Australia (54% and NSW (49%).

But for those who did claim – 37 per cent nationally – 18 per cent were fully covered for accidental damages, 15 per cent were partly covered and 4 per cent were not covered at all.

Nine per cent of respondents admitted to having no insurance at all.

Nationally, the most common claims were for spills/stains on carpets/rugs (38%), peeling/chipped paint (38%), water damage (28%), a broken tablet/phone/laptop (25%) or a hole in the wall (23%).

Pet-related damage accounted for 17 per cent of claims nationally.

Loving dubbed Sharknado, nothing is safe from my 6 months old border collie, not even furniture

And after drilling down further into the survey results, the research also revealed that the types of accidental damage claims als varied by age group.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the most common claim for those aged 18 to 24 years was for a broken tablet, phone or laptop (41%), followed by peeling/chipped paint (33%) and broken furniture or a hole in the wall (30%).

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Broken devices were the top claim for those aged 18-24

For those aged 25-34 years, who were also most likely renters, the most common claim was for peeling/chipped paint (39%), broken furniture, spills/stains on carpets and appliance damage (32%).

For those aged 35 to 44 years, peeling/chipped paint (47%) topped the list, followed by claims for a carpet stains/spills (36%) and a broken tablet, phone or laptop (32%).

The most common claims for those aged 45 to 54 years were peeling/chipped paint (41%), spills/stains (39%) water damage and broken tablet, phone or laptop (30%).

Those aged 55 to 64 years claimed most for spills/stains (40%), peeling/chipped paint (37%) and water damage (25%), while policyholders aged 65 years and over claimed for spills/stains (48%), water damage (32%) and peeling/chipped paint (31%).

Source: Compare the Market

Compare the Market chief executive of general insurance Adrian Taylor said that “most household ‘oops’ moments aren’t dramatic disasters, they’re the everyday spills, smashed screens and bumps that can quietly stack up to thousands in repair bills”.

“What can catch many people off guard is that accidental damage isn’t always covered the way they assume in their insurance policy, and some only discover limits or exclusions once they try to claim after a minor accident like spilling some wine or chipping some paint,” he said.

“Accidental damage is generally offered as an optional extra and typically covers mishaps like dropping your TV, red wine spills, and glass door breakage.

“Things like general wear and tear, malicious damage and faulty workmanship are typical exclusions from accidental damage cover.”

Those aged 55 to 64 years claimed most for spills/stains (40%)

South Australian policyholders were the most likely to be caught off-guard, with 10 per cent of those who did make a claim knocked back.

And according to the survey, 9 per cent of respondents had no insurance at all, with that number climbing to 10 per cent in NSW and Victoria.