INSURANCE THROUGH THE ROOF
INSURERS are ripping off people in North Queensland and politicians have done nothing about it, Townsville resident Bob Chad says.
Mr Chad was commenting on continuing hikes in insurance premiums and years of inquiries with the latest, the Northern Australian Insurance Premiums Taskforce report, finding insurers are increasingly pricing premiums to align more closely with risk and that losses from cyclone events is a key reason for these increases.
Mr Chad knows all too well about insurance increases.
The premiums for his home and contents policy on his North Ward home increased 250 per cent in the five years to 2017.
He finally managed to get a substantial reduction by changing insurers and increasing the excess on the policy tenfold to $ 2500.
“We are all black- listed because we live north of Rocky,” Mr Chad said.
“We’ve had all the politicians carry on but nothing has happened.”
According to the taskforce report, rates for home and contents insurance in North Queensland are 1.5 times those in Brisbane and 2.5 times those in Sydney and Melbourne in 2012- 13.
For North Queensland strata properties, the rates are five times those in southern cities. But these are all averages. North Queensland insurance advocate Margaret Shaw said premiums escalated between 200 and 1000 per cent without warning following Cyclone Yasi in 2011 and there was nothing to stop insurers raising them again.
She has welcomed $ 7.9 million in funding over four years from 2017- 18 to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to monitor premiums and profits of insurers in Northern Australia.
Mr Chad said insurance premiums had become so high pensioners and people on lower incomes could not afford them.
“I feel sorry for pensioners and people on a basic wage. I don’t know how they can afford it,” Mr Chad said.
Mr Chad was insured with RACQ for much of his life until he decided to change to Youi in 2017.
His annual premiums were: 2012, $ 2625; 2013, $ 3569; 2014, $ 4694; 2015, $ 4007 ( excess increased from $ 200 to $ 2000); 2016, $ 4878.
In 2017 RACQ quoted $ 6742, while AAMI offered $ 9000. With the excess lifted to $ 2500, Youi has provided annual cover for $ 2130 — almost $ 500 less than his 2012 cover.
Mr Chad said Youi looked into his circumstances, asking many more questions than other insurers and he pre-