Home Insurance renewal prices explained

If you’re a home owner, you may have noticed the price of your home insurance often increases from one year to the next.

You may not be able to avoid price jumps entirely, but it can be useful to know what factors affect how your insurance renewal price is calculated – and which ones you might have some control over.

Check your policy

Why have Home Insurance costs gone up?

It can be tough to pin it on one thing, but there are a few big factors at play.

Wild weather

Weather events like fires, floods, storms and more are getting more severe – so the costs involved in supporting people after these events have gone up. This means that insurance premiums have gone up to help cover those costs, and ensure that insurance companies can continue to help Aussies recover after severe weather events.

Repair and rebuilding costs

Tried to organise a reno recently? Then you know that materials are scarce, tradies are flat out, and prices are up.

This has a knock-on effect that’s visible in renewal premiums, since repair and rebuilding work makes up a big chunk of insurers’ costs.

Market forces

Home insurance premiums are affected by external forces, such as:

• inflation
• government fees and charges, and
• reinsurance costs.

These can vary from year to year, even if your personal circumstances haven’t changed.

How to renew your Home Insurance like a pro

Don’t just set and forget your home insurance! Updating some things may help you save a few bucks on your premium – though keep in mind that everyone’s circumstances are different, and this is just general info.

Listed valuables

You may have listed some valuable items on your policy for a specified amount, which can increase your premium. If you have done so, double check whether you still need them covered for the same amount, or listed at all.

Excess

AAMI Flexi-Premiums® lets you vary excess to save on your premiums. So you can agree to pay a higher excess in the event of a claim, and lower your monthly or annual premium payments.*

Explore Flexi-Premiums

Amount of cover

If you have an AAMI policy, you can adjust the sum insured, within a set range, and your premium will be adjusted accordingly. Your sum insured should reflect how much it costs to rebuild your house, as it’s the most we’ll pay to rebuild or repair it if an insured event occurs.

If you’re not sure what to set as your sum insured, our Home Building Calculator might be able to help.

Optional covers

When you first took out your policy, you may have added an optional cover or two – such as AAMI Home Assist, or Excess-Free Glass. Consider whether the mix of optional covers you’ve selected still suits your circumstances and budget.

Removing an optional cover can reduce your premiums. It also means your coverage will be impacted and you may find yourself without help in th case of, for example, accidentally broken glass. So, have a think about whether this is the right move for you.

Switch to annual payments

You may be able to save money by paying your AAMI home insurance premiums in one annual lump sum, rather than each month. Monthly instalments may give you flexibility, but you usually pay a little less overall when you pay in one annual lump sum.

Update and renew your policy

Why is my renewal more expensive than a new quote?

Your details may not be up to date

If your circumstances have changed since you first took out your policy, your renewal premium may be based on outdated info.

This can happen if, for example:

• you’ve moved address
• completed renovations that may have increased your amount of cover needed, or
• moved into a holiday home so it’s now your permanent residence.

If you’ve gotten a new quote based on your updated info, there may be a disparity between your renewal premium and your new quote.

To ensure your details are correct and your renewal premium is right for your circumstances, you can easily review and update your policy online.

Changes to sum insured

Your home insurance policy may specify a sum insured. That’s the most you’ll be paid for repairs or rebuilding in the event of a successful claim. With AAMI, you can select your sum insured – from within a set range – though one may be suggested when you take out or renew your policy.

Given inflation and rising building costs, your insurer may have suggested a higher sum insured than you had last year, to make sure you’re sufficiently covered. This can affect your premium. Any sum insured increase should be clear on your renewal documents, and you can adjust this within a set range.

If you’re an AAMI customer, or thinking about becoming one (welcome!), you can select a policy with Complete Replacement Cover. This means you don’t have to set a specific sum insured — if something happens and you need to repair or rebuild your home, we’ll pay the amount of the assessed quote to do so.

If you’d like to see how selecting this option will affect your premium, it’s easy to add or remove it before paying and instantly see the price impact.

More about Complete Replacement Cover

Read more:

• How much should you insure your house for?
• Home Insurance excess explained
• First home buyer’s insurance guide

*AAMI Flexi-Premiums® is available for Comprehensive Car, Home Building, Home Contents, Landlord, Strata, Comprehensive Motorcycle, Third Party Motorcycle and Caravan Insurance only.

Insurance issued by AAI Limited ABN 48 005 297 807 trading as AAMI. Read the Product Disclosure Statement before buying this insurance. The Target Market Determination is also available. This advice has been prepared without taking into account your particular objectives, financial situations or needs, so you should consider whether it is appropriate for you before acting on it.