Temporary Accommodation After an Insurance Claim: What Happens and What Should You Look For?

After you lodge a home insurance claim, your insurer will assess the damage and determine what your policy covers. Depending on your policy and circumstances, your insurance may provide cover for additional living expenses or temporary accommodation if your home is considered uninhabitable.

The exact amount, duration and conditions vary between policies, so check your Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and speak with your insurer or claims representative before making arrangements.

Your insurer may also provide guidance about the type of accommodation considered reasonable under your policy. In some cases, you may need approval before booking, particularly if you expect to stay for an extended period.

Being displaced from your own home is stressful enough without accommodation that makes daily life harder. Before you book, think about what a hotel room doesn’t give you that your home did: a kitchen, a washing machine, and somewhere for the whole household, including pets, to actually live rather than just sleep.

A single hotel room might be fine for a week. It stops working for a family stretched across a two-month repair job, where eating out every night and running loads of washing at a laundromat quietly adds costs that most daily allowances don’t stretch to cover.

• A kitchen and laundry. Cooking at home instead of ordering in, and doing your own washing instead of paying for a laundromat, keeps your daily spend closer to what the insurer’s allowance actually covers.
• No lock-in lease. You don’t know exactly how long repairs will take, so a booking you can extend week by week suits a claim far better than a fixed-term rental agreement.
• Complimentary Welcome Groccery Shopping Service:Arrive to a fully stocked apartment without the hassle of heading straight to the supermarket. We can arrange essential groceries before check-in, helping you settle in comfortably from day one.
• Space for the household. A one or two-bedroom apartment with a separate living area works better for families than a single hotel room, particularly for a stay measured in weeks rather than nights.
• Pet-friendly policies. If pets are part of the household being displaced, check this before you book. Not every hotel accepts pets, and conditions such as a cleaning fee often apply.
• A location close to work, school and the damaged property. You’ll likely need to visit the property while repairs are underway, so proximity matters more than it would on a normal trip.

Punthill’s apartment hotels are built around exactly this kind of stay. Every apartment includes a full kitchen and in-room laundry, so a longer stay doesn’t mean weeks of takeaway and laundromat runs. Bookings can be extended as your repair timeline changes, with long-stay rates available once a booking passes 14 nights, and most properties accept pets, with conditions applying.

With apartment hotels across Sydney and Melbourne, there’s usually a Punthill property close to home, so you can stay in the same area, keep the kids at the same school, and check in on repairs without a long drive. 

Properties such as Punthill Essendon, Punthill Williamstown, Punthill Oakleigh and Punthill Knox in Melbourne, or Punthill Norwest and Punthill Parramatta in Sydney, sit in residential areas rather than tourist precincts, which suits a household that’s displaced rather than travelling.

• Confirm with your insurer whether you need pre-approval or quotes before booking
• Ask whether the booking can be extended if repairs run over schedule
• Check that the apartment includes a kitchen and laundry, not just a kitchenette
• Confirm pet policies and any associated fees if you’re bringing animals
• Keep every receipt and booking confirmation for your claim file

Getting in touch

If you’ve been displaced by an insurance claim and need somewhere to stay while repairs are underway, Punthill’s reservations team can help find an apartment near you with the flexibility to extend as your timeline changes. Get in touch with the team to check availability at your nearest location.