1. About the Awards 
The Claims Hero 2026 Home Insurance Awards reflect the opinions of Claims Hero and its team about insurance claims handling and associated claims services. 

The Awards are based on Claims Hero’s experience with home insurance claims only, including home insurance claims handled or reviewed, consumer enquiries relating to home insurance, interactions with home insurers and their service providers, the collective observations and experience of Claims Hero staff, and relevant publicly available information. 

Claims Hero does not independently verify every third-party statement, review, social media post or consumer allegation considered as part of the Awards. The fact that Claims Hero has considered third-party material does not mean that Claims Hero adopts every statement or allegation contained in that material as fact. 

The Awards do not assess claims handling in relation to other insurance products and should not be interpreted as reflecting Claims Hero’s views about an insurer’s performance across all classes of insurance. 

2. Award methodology 
The Awards were determined through voting by members of the Claims Hero team, based on their professional experiences, observations and the information available to them at the time of voting and calibrated by a panel of senior Claims Hero staff. 

In forming their views, team members may have considered claims handled or reviewed by Claims Hero, complaints and enquiries received from consumers, interactions with insurers and their representatives, dealings with loss adjusters and service providers, publicly available information, published AFCA determinations, consumer commentary and other information considered relevant to the particular award category. 

The Awards are not based on a representative public survey, independent market research, statistical analysis or a comprehensive assessment of every Australian insurer, insurance product, policy, claim or customer experience. 

Claims Hero does not deal with every insurer to the same extent. The number, type, complexity and circumstances of claims and enquiries involving particular insurers can vary considerably. Claims Hero may therefore have substantially more information and experience concerning some insurers than others. 

Claims Hero’s work also frequently involves claims where a consumer is experiencing difficulty, delay, disagreement or dissatisfaction. Accordingly, the claims and enquiries seen by Claims Hero may not be representative of the broader population of claims handled by an insurer. 

An insurer receiving a Hero or Villain Award should not be understood as having been assessed across every claim, business unit, employee, product, geographic area or customer interaction. 

The absence of an insurer from an Award category does not mean that Claims Hero considers that insurer to perform better or worse than an Award recipient. It may simply reflect that Claims Hero did not have sufficient experience or information to form a meaningful comparative view. 

The Awards reflect the collective opinions of participating Claims Hero team members based on the information available to them. Different people may reasonably reach different conclusions from the same or similar information. 

The voting process is intended to identify patterns and comparative experiences observed by Claims Hero. It is not intended to establish an objective industry ranking or to prove that a particular practice occurs in every claim handled by an organisation. 

Where voting results, percentages or rankings are published, they reflect the votes received within the Claims Hero team and should not be interpreted as representing the views of Australian consumers generally. 

Claims handling practices may change over time. An Award reflects Claims Hero’s assessment at a particular point in time and should not be taken as a guarantee of an organisation’s current or future performance. 

Claims Hero may correct, clarify or update an Award, vote result or explanatory material if new information becomes available or if an administrative, factual or calculation error is identified. 

Nothing in this methodology or these Terms and Conditions is intended to qualify or excuse an inaccurate statement of fact. Claims Hero seeks to ensure that material factual statements made in connection with the Awards have a reasonable factual basis. 

3. Hero and Villain Award Terminology  
Hero Awards recognise organisations that Claims Hero considers performed comparatively strongly in the relevant claims handling category, based on the information and experiences considered for the Awards. 

The terms “Hero” and “Villain” are used solely as editorial labels within the creative and entertainment format of the Awards. They are intended to distinguish Claims Hero’s comparative views about claims handling performance and do not convey any legal, regulatory, ethical or moral finding about an organisation or its representatives. 

Villain Awards identify organisations that Claims Hero considers performed comparatively poorly, inconsistently, or with significant opportunity for improvement in the relevant claims handling category. 

The term “Villain” is used as part of the creative and editorial format of the Claims Hero Awards. It is intended to distinguish comparatively weaker claims handling performance from the stronger performance recognised by a Hero Award. 

A Villain Award does not mean that Claims Hero considers the organisation, or any of its directors, employees, contractors or representatives, to be criminal, dishonest, fraudulent, unethical, malicious or “evil”. It also does not, by itself, constitute a finding that the organisation has acted unlawfully, breached an insurance contract, contravened the General Insurance Code of Practice, engaged in regulatory misconduct or committed any other legal breach. 

Rather, the Villain designation reflects Claims Hero’s opinion that, based on the claims, enquiries, interactions, team experiences and other information considered, the organisation’s performance in the relevant category compared unfavourably with others or demonstrated recurring areas where Claims Hero considers improvement is needed. 

A Villain Award should also not be interpreted as meaning that every claim handled by the recipient is handled poorly, that every customer will have a negative experience, or that every employee or team within the organisation performs in the same way. 

4. Expressions of opinion 
Terms including Hero, Villain, Best, Worst and Most Improved reflect Claims Hero’s opinions based on the information considered at the time. 

Individual experiences may differ and an Award does not mean every claim involving an organisation will be handled in the same way. 

5. No financial product advice 
The Awards are general information and commentary only. 

They are not a recommendation to purchase, retain, cancel, change or avoid any insurance product and do not constitute personal financial product advice, legal advice or other professional advice. 

Consumers should consider their own circumstances and relevant product documentation before making insurance decisions. 

6. Insurer groups and brands 
Claims Hero may refer to an insurer by its underwriting entity, corporate group or consumer brands. 

This does not mean that every product, policy, claims team or customer experience within that group is identical. 

8. Corrections and right of reply 
Claims Hero may correct, clarify or update Award content where appropriate. 

Organisations discussed in the Awards may contact Claims Hero if they believe a material factual statement is incorrect or wish to provide a response. 

7. Award badges and branding 
Claims Hero retains all rights in the Claims Hero Awards name, Award badges and associated artwork. 

Use of an Award badge must accurately identify the Award year and category and must not suggest Claims Hero endorses a particular insurance product. 

8. Reliance 
The Awards are one source of general information about claims handling. Consumers should not make an insurance, legal, financial or other significant decision solely in reliance on the Awards or any associated podcast, article, transcript, social media post or promotional material. 

Consumers should always consider their own circumstances and seek appropriate professional advice before making financial or insurance decisions. Depending on the circumstances, this may include advice from a suitably qualified financial adviser, insurance broker, lawyer, accountant or other relevant professional. 

The Awards are not a substitute for personalised advice and should not be treated as a recommendation to purchase, retain, cancel, change or avoid any particular insurance product. 

Nothing in these Terms and Conditions excludes, restricts or modifies any right, guarantee, remedy or liability that cannot lawfully be excluded, restricted or modified.