Help centre

Domestic Building Insurance (DBI) provides some protection to homeowners in the event that their building project cannot be completed or has defective works which cannot be rectified as their builder has:

• died, disappeared or become insolvent; or
• failed to comply with a Tribunal or Court Order where DBI was issued by VMIA on or after 1 July 2015.

DBI 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, such as loss of deposit, legal costs associated with making a claim, accommodation and storage costs. View the policies here.

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.

Check that your builder is specifically referring to DBI, as builders can take out a range of different insurance, such as public liability, contract works insurance etc. which are unrelated to DBI insurance.

To take out DBI, your builder must first be ‘eligible’ for the insurance. You can check the eligibility status of your builder by conducting a Builder Search.

Eligible builders must then apply for an insurance policy to cover each individual building project. A Domestic Building Insurance Certificate will be issued to the eligible builder, and a copy must be given to you.

Ask your builder for a copy of the DBI Certificate of Insurance if they have not already provided a copy to you prior to them commencing work or you making any deposit payments under the building contract.

You can also complete a Property Search to find out if a DBI policy has been issued by VMIA on your property.

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. VMIA is unlikely to be the insurer for building projects that commenced prior to 31 May 2010. Domestic Building Insurance is usually taken out before or around the time the domestic building contract is signed, and VMIA 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 DBI 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 Domestic Building Dispute Resolution Victoria (DBDRV), for free building information and advice. You can also access helpful information on resolving building disputes on Consumer Affairs Victoria's Building disputes, defects and delays page.

It is very important that the details about the name of your builder, the price of your building contract and your property address on your Certificate of Insurance EXACTLY match the details on your building contract. If you notice an error, please contact your builder and request they provide you with a corrected Certificate of Insurance. Otherwise, contact VMIA.