Need to know
- $47,000 over 10 years. That's what people spend on average in Australia on insurance.
- If you're going to pay for peace of mind, make sure you aren't just paying a loyalty penalty. Review your insurance yearly.
- Don't forget, this applies to your utilities as well – keep on changing to chase the best price.
Electricity, fuel and health insurance bills get a run in our consumer pulse survey each year, indicating which expenses people are most worried about. However, our research also covers insurance premiums as a whole, and they take a big chunk out of your income each year.
Home and contents, health, and comprehensive car insurances add up to an average cost per household of almost $5000 a year.
Source: APRA| Insurance | Average price |
|---|---|
| Home (building and contents) | $746 |
| Motor (comprehensive) | $640 |
| CTP (compulsory third party car) | $233 |
| Health (hospital only) | $3128 |
| Total | $4747 |
Maybe you have extras insurance as well. Maybe you have a dog or a cat you pay pet insurance for. In this case, you're looking at over $6000 a year.
And we haven't even started talking about the insurances that you're probably paying for through your superannuation, or the ones that you can simply do without, like credit protection and funeral insurance.
$6000 a year. For insurance. Something you might need.
Their profit comes out of your pocket
We all know how insurance works. You're essentially agreeing to pay a premium for the few people who might need it. It's a profitable business.
Last year alone the home and contents, health and car insurance industries made a combined revenue of over $50 billion. And their profits were just under $4 billion.
So what can you do to lower your premiums (and their profits)?
Pay less for insurance
Over a 10-year period, do you want to pay $50,000, or do you want to pay $35,000? Probably neither, but if you need that cover, why would you pay more than you have to?
Our work makes sure that you don't pay more than necessary for insurance, and that when you need to claim (and here's hoping that you don't need to), it's as little work as possible – because for some reason it's you who needs to be proactive in chasing claims.
Check out our comparisons below to reduce your costs.
Play with your excess to the level that you're comfortable with paying up front if you do need to claim.
And when your insurer inevitably sends you that bill each year, take the opportunity to look at our results again and make sure they're still offering you suitable cover at the best price. You don't have to stay loyal to them – because they certainly aren't loyal to you.
CHOICE insurance comparisons
Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.
