While there are more than 50 home insurance policies available in Australia under many different brands, most are part of one of the big four insurance groups. The Australian general insurance landscape is very concentrated with the big four general insurance groups dominating close to 75% of the market*.
They are:
- IAG – 24%
- Suncorp – 21%
- QBE – 14%
- Allianz – 14%
*Based on gross earned premium in Australia, APRA, 2022/2023
On this page:
- Australia's big insurers: Who are they?
- Are NRMA, Allianz, QBE, AAMI, GIO and Suncorp not-for-profit?
- How satisfied are NRMA, Allianz, AAMI, GIO and Suncorp customers?
- NRMA, Allianz and AAMI claims satisfaction compared
- Home insurance key features
- Car insurance key features
- Insurance discounts
Australia's big insurers: Who are they?
IAG
IAG is the largest general insurance company in Australia and New Zealand and is selling insurance under many brands. IAG brands in Australia include: NRMA, Rollin, CGU, Coles Insurance, Bupa General Insurance, Swann Insurance, WFI (Wesfarmers Federation Insurance). In 2024, IAG also acquired 90% of Queensland's RACQ insurance and Victorian insurer RACV distributes insurance for IAG under the RACV brand.
Suncorp
Suncorp is an Australian finance and insurance corporation based in Brisbane, Suncorp was owned by the Queensland government until 1997, and in 2000 the government sold its last shares in the company through a public offer. Next to its Suncorp-branded policies, brands in Australia underwritten by Suncorp include: AAMI, GIO, Bingle, Apia and Shannons.
Allianz
Allianz is a German financial services company founded in 1890 and started in Australia in 1914 where it was originally known as the Manufacturers' Mutual Accident Insurance Association Limited (MMI). Allianz is also the underwriter for many insurance brands from banks, credit unions and building societies, including NAB, Westpac, St.George, Bank of Melbourne, BankSA, TIO, Great Southern Bank, Hume Bank and National Seniors. In 2024, Allianz also acquired South Australia's RAA insurance business.
QBE
QBE is an international general insurance and reinsurance company offering services through a network of agencies in 27 countries. QBE Australia was incorporated in Australia. Next to its QBE-branded policies, brands in Australia underwritten by QBE include Australia Post and Kogan.
Should you buy your policy from one of the big insurers?
Are the big insurers better than smaller insurers like Budget Direct or Youi ? It depends. All home and car insurance policies include some essential features but there are differences in the bells and whistles and consumer satisfaction.
To compare small and large insurers, see CHOICE car insurance and home and contents insurance reviews. We're not like the other insurance comparison websites – we don't get paid by any of the insurers we're comparing. And CHOICE is nonprofit, so your membership fees help our fight for fair consumer rights and empower you to get the best products.
Are NRMA, Allianz, QBE, AAMI, GIO and Suncorp not-for-profit?
All the four big insurance groups are for-profit.
Allianz is foreign-owned. QBE, IAG (NRMA) and Suncorp (GIO, AAMI) are all listed on the ASX (Australian Securities Exchange). There are a few mutual, not-for-profit insurers in Australia, they include:
How satisfied are NRMA, Allianz, AAMI, GIO and Suncorp customers?
CHOICE conducted a car and home insurance satisfaction survey in 2023. We found the large majority of respondents rated their insurer as above average or excellent. RAA rated best for car insurance and RACQ rated best for home insurance.
There are differences between the customer ratings for NRMA, Suncorp, GIO, AAMI and Allianz in customer satisfaction and claims satisfaction for home insurance and car insurance, with NRMA, Suncorp and GIO rating better than Allianz across the board. AAMI has mixed results. We did not have enough responses for QBE to publish a rating.
Customer satisfaction with home insurance
Suncorp customers are the most satisfied of the five brands for which we have data, with 77% rating their home insurance experience as above average or excellent. This was followed closely by GIO with 76%, and NRMA with 74%.
AAMI was lagging somewhat behind with 69% above average and excellent ratings, and Allianz scored the lowest, with only 58% of customers rating their experience with home insurance as above average or excellent.
Customer satisfaction with car insurance
Of the five brands, NRMA performed best. Of the NRMA customers we surveyed, 77% rated their experience with car insurance as above average or excellent.
GIO, with 73%, also received an above-average result, and Suncorp, with 72%, was about average.
AAMI with 65% rated below average, and again, Allianz had the lowest score of the big insurers with only 62% of Allianz customers rating their experience with car insurance as above average or excellent.
NRMA, Allianz and AAMI claims satisfaction compared
Home insurance claims
NRMA received the best result for claims satisfaction, with 75% of customers who made a claim rating the company as above average or excellent. AAMI received an average rating with 63% of AAMI customers rating their claim experience with the company as above average or excellent.
Allianz received the lowest result, with close to half (47%) of the insurer's customers rating the claims experience as average, below average or poor.
We did not receive enough responses from Suncorp, GIO and QBE customers with claims to publish their rating.
Car insurance claims
A majority of NRMA, Allianz and AAMI car insurance customers who made a claim had a good experience with their insurer. Ratings of above average or excellent were given by 74% of AAMI customers, 69% of NRMA customers and 60% of Allianz customers.
We did not receive enough responses from Suncorp, GIO and QBE customers with claims to publish their rating.
Home insurance key features
Home and contents insurance is all about being financially prepared for a major disaster like a fire, flood or storm. It's important to choose the right home and contents insurance to protect your hard-earned assets should the worst happen. If you're looking for a home insurance policy, check our expert home insurance comparison.
Underinsurance protectionUnderinsurance is when the amount you insure your property for isn't enough to replace it, leaving you out of pocket or settling for a cheaper alternative. The best way to prevent underinsurance is to make sure your home and contents sum insured values are up to date.
The sum insured is the dollar value to completely repair, rebuild and replace everything. If you're taking out a combined home and contents policy, you'll need to list two sum insured figures: one for your home and one for your contents.
Many insurers offer an underinsurance safety net for building cover. Depending on the size of the safety net, you could claim up to 30% above your sum insured if the cost of rebuilding your home escalates. This can be useful if rebuilding costs go up in the wake of a natural disaster.
Home and contents insurance policies that cover a safety net include:
- AAMI Complete Replacement Cover – total building replacement
- GIO Platinum – 30%
- GIO Classic Extras – 25%
- GIO Classic – 25% (optional)
- NRMA Home Building and Contents plus – 25%
- QBE Home – 30%
- Suncorp Classic Advantages – 30%
- Suncorp Classic Extras – 25%
- Suncorp Classic – 25% (optional)
Home and contents insurance policies that do not cover a safety net include:
- AAMI Home and Contents
- Allianz Home and Contents
- NRMA Home Building and Contents Standard
Fair offers for cash settlement
If you've been waiting a long time in temporary accommodation and your insurer offers a cash settlement for your claim, you may be very tempted to accept it. If you don't want to rebuild, it may seem like a good idea but there are a number of traps to be aware of.
Some insurers let you ask for a cash settlement, but be careful – you could end up out of pocket, as many will only pay what it will cost the insurer to rebuild, not what it will cost you to rebuild. This could leave you with a shortfall. Insurers have deals with builders, industry knowledge and bargaining power, so they may get a better price than you'd get.
Read more about cash settlements.Policies that cover your cost if you ask for a cash settlement include:
- NRMA Home Buildings and Contents Standard
- NRMA Home Buildings and Contents Plus
- QBE Home
Policies that cover only the insurer's cost if you ask for a cash settlement include:
- Allianz Home and Contents
- AAMI Home and Contents
- AAMI Complete Replacement Cover
- GIO Classic
- GIO Classic Extras
- GIO Platinum
- Suncorp Classic
- Suncorp Classic Extras
- Suncorp Classic Advantages
Car insurance key features
All comprehensive policies cover basics like accidents, natural disasters and vandalism but there can be differences in the bells and whistles each policy provides.
An important cover feature is how your insurer goes about repairing your car and making a payout if your car is a write-off.
If you're looking for the best policy for the lowest price, use our car insurance review to compare over 50 comprehensive car insurance policies. You'll save money and get better cover with car insurance policies recommended by CHOICE.
Agreed versus market value
Agreed value is when you insure your car for a specific amount (within a range set by the insurer). If your car is a total loss (written off or stolen), the insurer will pay you this amount, less the excess.
Market value is when you insure your car for what its value is at the time of an accident, determined by your insurer. Selecting this option reduces your premium, but it gives you less certainty about the value of your payout in the event of a loss. Not all policies allow you to insure your car for agreed value. Policies that allow you to insure your car for agreed value include:
- AAMI Comprehensive
- Allianz Comprehensive
- GIO Comprehensive
- GIO Comprehensive Platinum
- NRMA Comprehensive
- NRMA Comprehensive Plus
- Suncorp Comprehensive
- Suncorp Comprehensive Extra
- Suncorp Comprehensive Advantage
Policies that only allow you to insure your car for market value include:
- NRMA Comprehensive Basics
- QBE Comprehensive
Choice of repairer
Car insurance policies that offer a 'choice of repairer' let you choose your own repairer if your vehicle has been in an accident. Some policies may include a choice of repairer as a policy feature, others may not cover it at all, and some insurers will give you the option to pay more to have a choice of repairer.
If you don't have a 'choice of repairer' option, the insurer will choose the repairer.
Policies that cover choice of repairer include:
- Allianz Comprehensive
- GIO Comprehensive
- GIO Comprehensive Platinum
- Suncorp Comprehensive
- Suncorp Comprehensive Extra
- Suncorp Comprehensive Advantage
Policies that cover choice of repairer for an additional charge include:
- NRMA Comprehensive
- NRMA Comprehensive Plus
- QBE Comprehensive
Policies that do not offer choice of repairer (insurers chooses the repairer) include:
- AAMI Comprehensive
- NRMA Comprehensive Basics
Insurance discounts
A good way to save on car insurance is to look out for special offers, such as online discounts. And if there isn't an online discount, try to get a human on the line as some insurers will match or beat competitors' quotes. If you use your car less than the average driver, mention this when you get a quote and negotiate a cheaper premium.
Discounts may also be available if you have other policies with the same company or have an approved engine immobiliser or alarm installed in your car. But most discounts only last for your first policy year – they're just there to get you through the door, and you'll be stung with a steep increase in a year's time.
A discount can be a good way to shave some dollars off your premium, but don't let that be the deciding factor in your purchase.
All six major insurers offer discounts on insurance, but some of those are only available from time to time during promotional periods.
AAMI
Discounts from AAMI can include:
- $50 for the first year if you buy home or car insurance online
- 10% on car insurance if you pass a skilled driver course.
Allianz
Allianz discounts can include:
- no claim bonus of up to 30% for home insurance
- 10% discount if you combine home and contents insurance on the one policy
- 10% online discount on your first year if you buy Allianz car insurance from Westpac or NAB.
GIO
GIO discounts can include:
- 10% off your first year if you buy car insurance online
- 15% off combined home and contents insurance.
NRMA
In 2024 NRMA Insurance changed the way it applies discounts. On some policies you now can get a discount of:
- 10% of the premium in the first year if you take out your policy online
- 5% of the premium if you hold a policy for more than five years, and 10% if you hold it more than 10 years
- 5% of the premium if you hold at least two policies, 10% if you hold at least four policies, and 15% if you hold nine or more policies.
Suncorp
Suncorp discounts can include:
- $50 for the first year if you buy comprehensive car insurance online
- $100 if you buy home and contents insurance online
- a 15% multi-policy discount.
QBE
QBE discounts can include:
- $75 or the first year if you buy car insurance online
- 10% for the first year if you buy home, car or landlord insurance online.
Read our articles for other ways to save on home insurance and how to save on car insurance.
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