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• It usually covers incomplete or defective building work, up to amounts set out in the policy.
• It can also cover the costs of some expenses incurred by the homeowner, including: loss of deposit
• legal costs associated with making a claim
• accommodation
• storage costs

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The policy starts on the date of the building contract or building permit, whichever is earlier. It covers:

• non-structural defects for two years after completion or termination of the building contract; and
• structural defects for six years from the date of completion or termination of the building contact.

Refer to ‘What's covered?’ for more information.

No, your builder is required to purchase DBI on your behalf for domestic building works valued at $16,000 or more.

No — not all insurance is Domestic Building Insurance (DBI).Builders may have other types of insurance, like public liability or contract works insurance, but these don’t protect you if something goes wrong with your building project.

To be covered by DBI: 

1. Your builder must be eligible for DBI. You can check this using the Builder Search.
2. They must take out a separate DBI policy for your specific building project.
3. You must be given a DBI Certificate before work starts.

You can confirm that a DBI policy has been issued by using our policy verification search.

You can:

• contact the builder who carried out the works and request a copy of the DBI Certificate of Insurance;
• request details of any DBI policy from the previous owner (if the works were done prior to you purchasing the property); and/or
• contact your local council or the building surveyor who issued the building permit for the work and find out if there was a DBI policy issued.

No - BPC is unlikely to be the insurer for building projects that commenced before 31 May 2010. Domestic Building Insurance is usually taken out before or around the time the domestic building contract is signed, and BPC did not provide DBI before 31 May 2010.

There are currently two other DBI Insurers in the market.

Cover will only be provided under your Domestic and Building Insurance policy, if your builder has died, disappeared or become insolvent (or in some circumstances if your Certificate of Insurance was issued after 1 July 2015 and the builder has failed to comply with a Tribunal or Court Order). These are known as "policy triggers".

For disputes involving your builder, you can contact:

• BPC Disputes Resolution, for free building information and advice.
• Consumer Affairs Victoria's Building disputes, defects and delays, for helpful information on resolving building disputes.