House and contents insurance hike

CAMS290 · 10-03-2010, 08:04 PM

Just received my house and contents renewal in the mail today, and was amused that the premium has increased from $656.00 to $835.00, an increase of 27%

The home insured value has risen from $350,000 to $384,000 which is about a 9.7% increase on last year, and the contents sum insured has risen from $85,500 to $94,000 which is about a 9.8% increase.

Has anyone else noticed their premiums sky rocketing ? and are we paying for unfortunate acts of nature such as the Victorian fires and the Queensland floods ? or are GIO getting up me.

Any other recommendations for house and contents insurance ?

**ebxr8240** · 10-03-2010, 09:02 PM

Sometimes changing insurance companies helps with cheaper premiums..
They are not loyal anymore...

bodes-sh · 10-03-2010, 09:13 PM

aami don't seem too bad, i did an online quote with them recently and it's a fair bit less than rac who we are with atm. aami also apparently have unlimited rebuilding costs according to the end of the online quote...

youi are hopeless, you can't do a single quote for home and contents, you have to do them seperately.

KITBAG · 10-03-2010, 09:34 PM

[QUOTE=CAMS290]Just received my house and contents renewal in the mail an increase of 27%
QUOTE]

They may be going up in because they know about the:
1: insulation debacle (house catching on fire)
2: New smart meters being installed (could be a problem)
We will have to wait and see about number 2

justbrett · 10-03-2010, 11:45 PM

My mum just mentioned a similar sized increase on her home and contents premium. She's retired, home all day, no fancy electronics to protect etc. She's with NRMA, I told her to firstly call and ask what the hike was for, and to secondly start ringing around.

I'd love to hear the crap they come up with as an excuse.

Matty4 · 11-03-2010, 12:21 AM

I just renewed mine recently.
My broker sent me a letter stating that my premium had doubled......WTF!!
they included 3 other quotes and the cheapest was still $250 odd dearer than last year.

The fires had a lot to do with it, especially since my area was listed as being close to the fires.

**ebxr8240** · 11-03-2010, 10:21 AM

New scheme coming out... $1200 to take insulation out of roof..Lol...

irdonn · 11-03-2010, 11:21 AM

Mine was renewed a few weeks ago. The premium had dropped by $50. Contents and home values had risen. Insured through Westpac.

Cheers.

left · 11-03-2010, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CAMS290

Just received my house and contents renewal in the mail today, and was amused that the premium has increased from $656.00 to $835.00, an increase of 27%

The home insured value has risen from $350,000 to $384,000 which is about a 9.7% increase on last year, and the contents sum insured has risen from $85,500 to $94,000 which is about a 9.8% increase.

That seems on the high side. I'm paying just under $900 per annum for total value $450k with Westpac having recently changed from RACV. Westpac policy is much much better although slightly costlier than RACV.

loxxr6 · 11-03-2010, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CAMS290

Just received my house and contents renewal in the mail today, and was amused that the premium has increased from $656.00 to $835.00, an increase of 27%

The home insured value has risen from $350,000 to $384,000 which is about a 9.7% increase on last year, and the contents sum insured has risen from $85,500 to $94,000 which is about a 9.8% increase.

Has anyone else noticed their premiums sky rocketing ? and are we paying for unfortunate acts of nature such as the Victorian fires and the Queensland floods ? or are GIO getting up me.

Any other recommendations for house and contents insurance ?

Natural perils like fires/floods are to an extent factored in already.

Does your insurer offer flood cover now? If so and its an opt out policy you may find dumping this if you don't want it, will reduce your premium.

T3ts50 · 11-03-2010, 02:54 PM

I'm expecting my Home & contents insurance in the mail shortly, but I have just recieved by car insurance renewal which had jumped up over $100 over the previous year, though with my multi policy discount, it reduced it down by around $280. The insurance company couldnt give an explanation of why the premiums had jumped.

InTrail · 11-03-2010, 03:04 PM

Our recent renewal with Suncorp was nearly 70% more than last year.

Funny thing was they rang up to see if I had any questions or concerns.
After the sales girl got over explaining that all premiums had gone up due to increased claims and reduced profitability, I quoted her Suncorp's own financial press release which states that Suncorp's general insurance profit was up 89% on the previous period.

Ending up settling for a 10% increase on last year.

JAYMZ · 11-03-2010, 05:24 PM

Just swapped my home and contents. Saved 50% which i thought was awesome. Went from QBE to RACV. with total amount $400k insured @ $470 pa.

This is with members discount and multi policy discount, im happy.

CAMS290 · 11-03-2010, 06:50 PM

Just did a online quote with AAMI, pay online $507 insured for unlimited building costs and contents insured for $94,000.
That is a $328 saving compared to GIO, I also did a online quote with RACV and they were about $50 dearer than GIO.

CAMS290 · 11-03-2010, 07:33 PM

Just did a coupe of more online, Budget Direct $831 for the same cover, and Allianz at $664.

GIO are waaayy of the mark and it does pay to shop around judging by the price difference.

Rastus · 11-03-2010, 09:03 PM

Yeah, mine's gone up also. We're with RACV, and we were paying $53.49 a month, now $61.01, so that's up 14% if my maths is right. Or $592 Vs $679 annually.
Value on the House & Contents has risen by 4.7 & 5% respectively. So yeah, they're stretching the margin little aren't they. Doing what you did Cameron, looked at online quote with AAMI, and their cover costs $620 online for Unlimited building & same contents value as RACV.
Allianz won't cover me as I don't have window locks, only door deadlocks!
Moral of the story is to shop around I guess, then shop the price, or move on.

FGII-XR6 · 12-03-2010, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ebxr8240

New scheme coming out... $1200 to take insulation out of roof..Lol...

Peter Garrett's New Band

**Sorted** · 12-03-2010, 12:43 PM

The Same Cover lol Their covers are not the Same........the sum insured may be the same but thats about it.........

And are we using the same excess?

As if one company quotes you a premium with a $100 excess

Then you get a quote from another company with a $500 excess its not really like for like?

schmidty · 15-03-2010, 01:50 AM

Find the cheapest quote for comparable cover. Then call GIO and they will beat it or at the very least match it. Always have for me. Every year i get my car insurance i do the same thing. The renewal comes with an increased premium, i usually end up paying the same or less than the previous year by the time I've called and re negotiated.