Consumers in dark about premium hikes as insurers report bumper profits | The Business | ABC NEWS
Australia’s biggest insurers have posted strong profit results as premiums have continued to rise. The industry insists it is not profiteering, but customer advocates say policyholders are being hit with huge premium hikes with little or no explanation. Advocates are calling for national independent insurance price monitoring. Insurance Council of Australia chief executive Andrew Hall rejected calls for a national price monitor and the idea insurers are profiteering.
Rhiana Whitson meets one homeowner, who saw her insurance premium rise from $728.16 to $5,345.88 in just 12 months. She lives in a first floor apartment and the cost of her building’s strata insurance had barely moved. Westpac’s insurance arm, underwritten by Allianz, argued she had “consented” to the new premium because her payments were set to automatically debit. She went to the Financial Rights Legal Centre for help and took her case to Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA). The centre’s Insurance Law Service takes 100–150 calls a week, often from people reporting premium increases of 30–50 per cent. The frustration comes as Australia’s biggest insurers, Suncorp, QBE and IAG post bumper profits, fuelled by years of premium increases and a relatively quiet year for natural disasters. The ACCC’s latest monitoring report found the government’s cyclone reinsurance pool has moderated price rises in cyclone-prone areas, but across much of the country premiums remain high and continue to climb.
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