Results 1 to 9 of 9

Thread: Home and contents insurance unafordable

  1. #1
    Senior Member
    bazzy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Ipswich, Queensland, Australia, Earth
    Age
    36
    Posts
    672
    Thanks
    16
    Thanked 167 Times in 102 Posts
    Rep Power
    263
    Reputation
    3285

    Default Home and contents insurance unafordable

    Hi All

    I have been with suncorp insurance ever since the 2011 floods when all those people where messed around by their insurance companies.
    They have always been reasonable however i have just got this years policy document and it has gone up from $2100 for a year to $4500 for a year.

    after checking around most insurers are charging in that vicinity if you opt to have flood cover.

    now flood is the most likely incident to happen, so basically most insurance companies want to only cover the infinitesimally unlikely events. in other words no coverage.

    that being said i have never had to claim and even things that should have been covered by insurance really (aka flooding caused by a shower pan failing) was not claimed and rather put in as part of renovation costs to the bathroom to repair. carpet replaced out of my own pocket etc.

    so given the lack of claims i am perplexed why they have massively increased insurance premiums. part of the reason given was the insured value being 500k, they will not allow that to be reduced.

    When i was looking at extending my property the builder actually ended up saying that i would be better off rebuilding and quoted me $300k for the build. the property was recently valued at $350k.

    now given those prices and valuation on the property there is no chance that an insurance company is going to ever pay out $500k for a house to be repaired that only worth 350k neither would they pay the $500k if they deemed the repair uneconomical. so it seems unfair for them to mandate that the insurance figure be so high

    with the additional cost of living associated with mortgage interest rates it is really a low blow for the insurance companies to be price gauging like this.



Look Here ->
  • #2
    Premium Member
    wotnot's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2019
    Location
    Scenic Rim, SE Qld
    Posts
    3,236
    Thanks
    1,462
    Thanked 2,934 Times in 1,510 Posts
    Rep Power
    1334
    Reputation
    58690

    Default


  • #3
    Senior Member

    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    1,703
    Thanks
    227
    Thanked 1,112 Times in 571 Posts
    Rep Power
    637
    Reputation
    20724

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by bazzy View Post
    so given the lack of claims i am perplexed why they have massively increased insurance premiums.
    Insurance premiums are based not only on claims of the policy holder (the individual) but on claims across all policy holders (the collective).

    While you individually may not have made a claim, the insurer has almost certainly been hit with huge claims by other policy holders.

    As a result the premiums for each individual will increase, and in many cases like yours, those individuals who are at risk of flood will unfortunately be faced with large increases to cover the cost of the coverage needed for all policy holders who shoulder the same risk.

  • #4
    LSemmens
    lsemmens's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    Rural South OZ
    Posts
    10,585
    Thanks
    11,867
    Thanked 7,061 Times in 3,338 Posts
    Rep Power
    3153
    Reputation
    132592

    Default

    It's getting to the stage where you'd be better off putting your "premiums" into the bank and only using it when you have a claim event. That said, I've been happy with APIA at approx $205 a month for home and contents. We had a flood event in 2010 that we made a claim on but it was nowhere near as severe as the QLD floods.
    I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message...

  • #5
    Senior Member
    fandtm666's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Posts
    5,502
    Thanks
    244
    Thanked 990 Times in 465 Posts
    Rep Power
    1189
    Reputation
    40447

    Default

    at least you can get insurance , i live in tweed area and many of the NEW homes
    that have been built over the last 5 or so years can no longer even get insured
    after the floods we had last year.

    After the floods they rezoned a massive area into a 1 in 100 zone and as such
    premiums are way out of touch for most and will not have any chance of flood insurance.
    dont say linux if i wanted it id install it

  • #6
    Senior Member
    bazzy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Ipswich, Queensland, Australia, Earth
    Age
    36
    Posts
    672
    Thanks
    16
    Thanked 167 Times in 102 Posts
    Rep Power
    263
    Reputation
    3285

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by fandtm666 View Post
    at least you can get insurance , i live in tweed area and many of the NEW homes
    that have been built over the last 5 or so years can no longer even get insured
    after the floods we had last year.

    After the floods they rezoned a massive area into a 1 in 100 zone and as such
    premiums are way out of touch for most and will not have any chance of flood insurance.
    there is no functional difference in being able to insure but at a cost that is not affordable to any normal person and the insurance company refusing to cover you.

  • #7
    Senior Member

    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    1,703
    Thanks
    227
    Thanked 1,112 Times in 571 Posts
    Rep Power
    637
    Reputation
    20724

    Default Home and contents insurance unafordable

    Quote Originally Posted by lsemmens View Post
    It's getting to the stage where you'd be better off putting your "premiums" into the bank and only using it when you have a claim event. That said, I've been happy with APIA at approx $205 a month for home and contents. We had a flood event in 2010 that we made a claim on but it was nowhere near as severe as the QLD floods.
    I know people who do this for home insurance, hedging they’ll never need to claim for a completely destructive event such as a fire, large tree through the roof, etc. Problem is very few of them put the ~$2k a year they save on home/contents insurance into a savings account, so if the worst did happen they would be completely financially ruined.
    Last edited by peteramjet; 01-03-23 at 05:30 AM.

  • #8
    LSemmens
    lsemmens's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    Rural South OZ
    Posts
    10,585
    Thanks
    11,867
    Thanked 7,061 Times in 3,338 Posts
    Rep Power
    3153
    Reputation
    132592

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by peteramjet View Post
    I know people who do this for home insurance, hedging they’ll never need to claim for a completely destructive event such as a fire, large tree through the roof, etc. Problem is very few of them put the ~$2k a year they save on home/contents insurance into a savings account, so if the worst did happen they would be completely financially ruined.
    Therein lies the rub! It's great in theory, but, in practice.........,..
    I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message...

  • #9
    Senior Member

    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    1,703
    Thanks
    227
    Thanked 1,112 Times in 571 Posts
    Rep Power
    637
    Reputation
    20724

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by lsemmens View Post
    Therein lies the rub! It's great in theory, but, in practice.........,..
    100%.

    Unfortunately it’s generally the people who can’t afford insurance who are the same people who can’t afford to rebuild.

  • Bookmarks

    Posting Permissions

    • You may not post new threads
    • You may not post replies
    • You may not post attachments
    • You may not edit your posts
    •