EMBARGOED 00:00 TUESDAY 8 AUGUST 2023 

New research from a coalition of advocacy groups has found the home and contents insurance market is failing to protect people against extreme weather events, with customers struggling to access and afford the insurance they need.  

The report, commissioned by CHOICE, Climate Council, Financial Counselling Australia, Financial Rights Legal Centre, and the Tenants’ Union of NSW, is based on a nationwide survey of home insurance policyholders, in depth interviews with people affected by extreme weather events and interviews with key civil society groups.

The research revealed five key problems with the home and contents insurance market:

• Complex product design: Home and contents policies are complex and difficult to compare across insurers, often leading to people being unintentionally underinsured. 

• Unaffordable premiums: At their most recent renewal, 87% of policyholders have seen their premiums rise. Insurance unaffordability is worse in disaster-prone areas, and many households on low incomes have been priced out of the insurance market completely.

• Inaccessible information on natural hazard risk: Finding information on the level of risk to your home is very difficult, and the information that is available is piecemeal and often inaccurate.
  Actions by homeowners to mitigate risk are not being considered by insurers: 44% of policyholders would consider investing in measures to lower the cost of their premium but many insurers do not recognise these kinds of measures when pricing policies.
  Housing in high-risk areas needs solutions beyond insurance: When homes are no longer insurable or safe to live in governments need to plan for other solutions, including relocation. 

The coalition behind this research is calling on the government to take the following steps to ensure people are protected from the risks associated with extreme weather events: 

• Make home and contents insurance simpler, fairer and more affordable by standardising definitions and requiring insurers to proactively warn customers about underinsurance. 

• Conduct an independent review of the affordability of home insurance - now and into the future. 

• Subsidise home insurance in communities where insurance is unaffordable, particularly for people on low incomes. 

• Provide funding to help people on low incomes to make their homes more resilient, and amend residential tenancy laws so landlords make rented properties more resilient to climate risks.

• Create a database that provides easily understood, publicly available information on current and future climate risks to people's homes.

• Adopt a national approach to planning for relocation of communities at high risk of natural disasters.

Read the full story here: choice.com.au/insurancereport

Sign the petition calling for insurance industry reform here: choice.com.au/insurancepetition

Case studies are available for interview. Please contact CHOICE for more information.

Media contact: 0430 172 669, media@choice.com.au 

EMBARGOED 00:00 TUESDAY 8 AUGUST 2023 

Report, media release and infographic

Pre-recorded interviews

B-roll footage and images

Press conference images 

B-roll and photos provided by case study - Flooding in Shepparton, VIC