We asked our readers how they lowered their insurance premiums. Here are their tips

As weather events and climate change put upward pressure on home insurance premiums, annual increases have become a major impost on household budgets.

We asked our readers to share their success stories in lowering their premiums, and had experts weigh in with their advice on the best strategies.

Here’s what our brains trust had to say.

1. Review your policy cover regularly

Home owners can decide whether to insure solely their property or extend their cover to include the loss of household items and belongings in the event of a mishap.

Taking out home insurance covers only damage to the property, whereas combined home and contents insurance factors in the value of material things inside the home that are damaged or lost, alongside the cost to rebuild.

CHOICE insurance expert Jodi Bird says it’s important to distinguish the rebuilding costs from the actual market value of your home.

He suggests using an independent online calculator to help estimate costs and then comparing those to what’s available on insurance provider websites.

That is why some readers actively stay across current costs that are involved with rebuilding when reviewing their policy covers.

Another way to lower your cost is each year or every two years at least check out how much coverage you really need for your contents cover. If you’ve got coverage of $100,000 for contents and you lose it and your contents are only worth $50,000, you will only be paid the replacement value of $50,000. Many people also forget insurance companies do not insure the land. They’re only insuring the building on the land and you need to consider the building materials. — Jon, Vic

With the house & contents policy most insurers automatically put it up each year based on increased building costs, clean-up costs & other fees etc. But you can do your own checking to get an estimate rebuild figure. Sometimes what they say is the cost is higher than needed. I got them to leave it at the previous year’s premium & I’ll consider it again if needed at the next renewal. — Ian, Qld

Some readers were able to lower their premium payments after deciding they could do without certain coverage, something Mr Bird emphasises should be done with caution.

I have received a quote of about $700 lower than my current insurer on house and contents. New insurance does not cover flood. My council’s flood certificate states no risk of flooding so worth the risk. — Suzanne, Qld

Shopped around to lower my apartment contents insurance and found a cheaper company. I rang to cancel my insurance with my existing provider, and they did a check. They asked if I needed flood insurance, I said no, and the price dropped dramatically. — David, NSW

In these instances, Mr Bird says it’s important to be fully informed about the flood risk in your area.

One way to check this is to toggle on the flood premium option on your insurance provider’s website.

If it reduces your payment, Mr Bird says, “That’s the insurer’s way of saying they think there is a risk of flood where you are and that’s something worth checking out with the local council.”

2. Negotiate and ask for a price match

Sometimes, all it takes is a conversation with your insurance provider.

At least, that was the case for these readers.

I managed to lower the premium just by negotiating. This has happened twice and I’m wondering whether there’s not a set amount that the customer service people are permitted to offer. — Adam, Vic

Our premium went up by a few thousand. I called the insurer, and after a short, pleasant conversation the premium was dropped to slightly above the previous year. — Peter, NSW

Even if that means being transparent about your financial means.

I have rung the insurance provider, told them it’s too expensive and asked them to make a better offer. This usually results in a reduction of $150-$250. — Rebecca, Tas

Henri from Queensland took a more proactive approach and provided his insurer with quotes from competitors that resulted in a price match.

We received our renewal invoice and it was $7,500. After comparing with two other insurance companies (with the same levels of cover and similar excess) and getting a far better quote (some $2,250 cheaper), I rang our insurance company and complained to them about the price. My call was escalated to a more senior person and they offered to match the lowest competitive price. We agreed and ended up saving approximately $2,250 — a great result. However, I’m unsure if it will happen this December when our insurance comes up for renewal again.

It’s also worth checking against your existing provider in doing a price match, says Mr Bird.

“Pretend to be a new customer and see if you actually get a cheaper deal that way,” he says.

If they offer a lower price, don’t be afraid to contact your insurer and request them to match the better offer.

Hot tip: Use an incognito browser when accessing their website so you won’t be identified as an existing customer.

3. Shop around and consider switching providers

Heard of the loyalty tax?

It’s when insurers attract as many new customers as possible by offering hefty discounts up-front, which are later replaced with inflated premiums.

Being loyal to an insurer doesn’t come with rewards, Financial Counselling Australia chief executive Peter Gartlan says.

He urges people to move around or negotiate for better deals.

ACT resident Belinda shared her experience with switching providers after decades of being a loyal customer.

The decision came with pleasant surprises.

I had been a loyal and constant customer with the same insurer for almost 20 years. In 2024, I had finally had enough of the insurance premiums going up and up while the insured value dropped. So, I contacted the company to have them reduce the premium by a small percentage. I then shopped around and got various quotes from other companies — I was shocked to see the premiums for identical options hundreds of dollars lower with multiple companies — up to $500 lower in the case of our house insurance. I have now moved each policy across to the new insurer as they were renewed. The new company also offered no fee pay by the month while the previous company charged you more to pay by the month.

And while switching providers may seem daunting at first, comparison websites can make the process easier.

Ian from NSW traded an hour of his time spent on research for $500 worth of savings.

I reduced my house insurance from $ 1536.05 to $1028.10 simply by comparing most insurance companies. For spending an hour on the internet I saved $500 or a third of what I was being charged.

But if sifting through comparison websites prove unfruitful, it might be worth keeping your eyes and ears peeled for signs around you.

A colleague’s recommendation saved Sam from Western Australia $5,000 on her insurance premium, which had initially doubled.

I bought a house last year. To insure it, I used the provider of my contents insurance. I found them through a insurance broker. This year, my insurance had doubled to around $9,000 for the year. Comparison sites weren’t able to provide a cheaper alternative, neither was the insurance broker. I accepted that’s the best I could do. Thankfully [I talked] to a colleague [and] they recommended their insurer. I got a quote for $4k and switched. Very thankful I had the conversation.

William from New South Wales had an offer fall right into his hands at about 50 per cent less than what he was already paying.

Found a link to [an] insurance in one of their handouts, checked it and it was about 50% less than the current cost. The increase from 2024 to the current renewal with the now dumped insurance company was about $2000. Also able to pay monthly.

A CHOICE report out today compared quotes across 35 insurers, finding the average home insurance premium has increased by 16 per cent over the past year.

However, it stressed insurance premiums fluctuate across different areas over the years.

Mr Bird says this shows insurers were always adjusting their perceived risk levels. He suggests double-checking with insurers when a renewal comes around even if their prices were high in the past.

Here are the insurers whose average prices have increased by the most between January 2024 and January 2025, according to CHOICE.

• Kogan — 37.9 per cent
• RAC — 32.6 per cent
• Honey — 30.7 per cent
• Apia — 28.1 per cent
• RAA — 27.1  per cent

Here are the insurers whose average price increase have increased by the smallest amount between January 2024 and January 2025, according to CHOICE.

• Bank west — 5.2 per cent
• CBA — 5.2  per cent
• AHM — 5.1  per cent
• NRMA — 1.7 per cent
• RACQ — 0.02 per cent

4. Consider increasing your excess

On average, Mr Bird says, “For every $500 you increase your excess by, you reduce your actual premium by about 10 per cent”.

While increasing your excess can lower the premium amount, there are important factors to consider.

An excess is the fixed amount you would need to pay the insurer for when making a claim on your insurance policy.

Choosing a higher excess amount results in a lower premium rate.

So, it involves making a judgement between paying more up-front or having the excess amount ready down the road when an unexpected event happens.

This is what Simon from NSW had thoroughly considered in assessing what he was comfortable with losing, when making the decision to increase his excess amount.

He then scored $900 worth of savings on his insurance premium.

Dropping insurance quote… I simply increased my excess to the maximum ($5000) as I figured if my house burns down then $5,000 is well worth it to rebuild a house, and the likelihood of flood for me is minimal. Also, contents wise I don’t own anything expensive really. Second-hand furniture is fine for me. My premium dropped from a quoted $2,500 to about $1,600. I’m not worried about slight damage, only the cost of a rebuild ie bushfire.

Others also shared similar experiences when they increased their excess.

[I] have in the past year doubled the size of their excess from $5,000 to $10,000. Taking up this feature saved me $400. — William from NSW

I negotiated a higher excess ($3,000 vs $1,000) to significantly reduce my premium. — Tom from Vic

5. Enlist the help of a third party

If you struggle to manage or dispute costs on your own, you can engage either an insurance broker or approach an ombudsman via the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) for some help in several areas, Mr Bird says. 

An insurance broker provides advice tailored to your situation and can find out the best insurance options for you based on a thorough assessment of your needs.

Also acting as an advocate, they would also be able to undertake negotiations on your behalf. 

Mr Bird says brokers can be very helpful in “special circumstances” such as if you are running a business from home or have a property larger than two hectares. 

AFCA encourages you to take complaints to your insurer first and participate in their internal dispute processes before going to them for help. 

It is important to note that AFCA will not consider complaints about premium increases unless it involves the following scenarios:

• The cost was not disclosed to you
• The cost was misrepresented to you
• The cost have been incorrectly applied
• The complaint is about a breach of a legal obligation on the part of the financial firm

“Essentially, the insurer needs to be able to provide a valid reason for why they are increasing your premium by a certain amount,” explains Mr Bird. 

Here’s how some readers have benefited from having third-party help.

I was shocked by the massive increase in my House and Contents insurance. I contacted my local Federal member of Parliament. He wrote to the CEO of this particular insurance company asking for a “please explain!” After the usual hoo-ha from the company, I did manage to get a 5 per cent discount off the premium … better than nothing I guess! — Bruce, NSW

My premium was up for renewal and I went online and completed an application. The premium jumped from $5,000 to $14,000 per year. I rang and said I had spoken to the Ombudsman and it was reduced to $6,000. — Lisa, QLD

Note: Submissions have been edited for brevity, style and to ensure consumer protections are in place.

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