Insurance

Motor vehicle insurance is the fastest-rising insurance category at +8.4% YoY, driven by surging repair costs, labour shortages in panel beating, and increasing vehicle theft rates. The average comprehensive policy now costs over $1,800 per year nationally. In some cities and for some vehicle types, increases of 15–20% have been recorded.

Home building and contents insurance rose 51% over five years to 2025, according to actuarial firm Finity. Climate risk repricing is the underlying driver — insurers have systematically increased premiums in flood, cyclone, and bushfire-exposed regions. In north Queensland, some households are now paying over $5,000 per year for combined cover. Nationally 1.4 million homes are estimated to be uninsured or underinsured partly due to premium affordability.

The Insurance Council of Australia attributes the sustained premium increases to $16 billion in catastrophe claims since the 2019–20 Black Summer bushfires across 13 declared insurance events. Rising asset replacement costs, reinsurance costs, and inflation in building trades have compounded the impact of claims on premium pricing.

State taxes on insurance add 10–40% to the cost of premiums in most states through stamp duty and fire services levies. The ICA has repeatedly called for these taxes to be removed or reduced as they directly amplify the cost burden on households and discourage adequate coverage.