As if life wasn’t already expensive enough, new data has shown where homeowners are getting stung the hardest when it comes to their house insurance.
New Finder analysis of three major insurance providers’ average quotes for Australia’s most densely populated council areas in its biggest capital cities have revealed where homeowners need the deepest pockets. And the results are surprising.
From disasters to crime waves, there’s a range of factors driving premiums up, and it’s putting increasing pressure on homeowners’ hip pockets.
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Here’s what Finder found in some of our major council areas across our four major cities:
MELBOURNE
Homebuyers in Melbourne’s traditionally safer suburbs are being stung as surging crime and soaring cost of building drives sharp hikes in home insurance premiums.
Exclusive analysis from Finder shows the average premium in Victoria has jumped $425 in a year to $2442 – the biggest annual rise recorded in the nation.
The most expensive municipality is now Bayside at $2812, where the spike is linked to rising crime, such as home break-ins and aggravated burglaries.
Break-ins and burglaries are driving insurance premiums up across Melbourne. Pic: iStock
High-profile residents such as Rebecca Judd have voiced safety concerns in affluent suburbs such as Brighton, where residents are planning to self-fund a $300,000 a year security presence to clamp down on out-of-control crime, while St Kilda has seen a spate of break-ins, including a terrifying home invasion at the home of actor Asher Keddie and artist Vincent Fantauzzo.
Finder insurance expert Peta Taylor said insurers were now factoring crime rates and rebuild costs into risk profiles, rather than focusing solely on bushfire and flood overlays.
“It’s not just about what your house is worth anymore, it’s about how much it would cost to replace it, where it is, and what the risks are,” Ms Taylor said.
“If a postcode keeps coming up with break-ins or theft claims, premiums go up.”
SYDNEY
They’re the postcodes where homeowners are getting stung with a hidden annual premium of up to $4000 a year – on top of the lofty mortgage repayments and council fees they already pay.
And it’s a charge homeowners have little chance of escaping as it’s a condition of their loans.
Analysis from Finder.com.au has revealed an alarming rise in home insurance premiums across Sydney, with certain city pockets now insurance money pits where premiums are much higher.
Finder’s Peta Taylor. Pic: Supplied
Many of these areas are concentrated in Western Sydney, where residents are enduring some of the highest rates of mortgage stress in the country.
Finder insurance expert Peta Taylor said the charges in certain areas amounted to a “postcode lottery on steroids”.
“It’s striking. We’re talking about families in outer metro Sydney paying more for insurance than those in some of Melbourne’s most prestigious postcodes,” Ms Taylor said.
BRISBANE
A snapshot of insurance premiums across Queensland shows that some residents are paying upwards of $11,000 a year for home and contents cover — a cost many are foregoing due to cost of living pressures.
And Brisbane residents are being slugged the most, with a record-high premium that is well above the national average of $2790.
Analysis by Finder found that homeowners in the Brisbane LGA were paying the highest insurance across the major capital cities, with the average premium across randomised addresses coming in at an eyewatering $11,881.
One provider quoted a staggering $14,905.
A flooded home in Tingalpa after heavy rain and damaging winds in the wake of ex Cyclone Alfred. Picture: NewsWire/Tertius Pickard
“It’s a cruel twist: the more people flock to Queensland for a laid-back lifestyle, the more they’re getting walloped by disaster-prone premiums,” Finder insurance expert Peta Taylor said, adding that Brisbane led the nation with record-high premiums that were six times more than many Melbourne suburbs.
The shocking figure comes as southeast Queensland continues to clean up after ex-Cyclone Alfred crossed the Moreton Bay coast early last month, and the state’s outback grapples with ongoing and widespread floods.
ADELAIDE
According to the research, the most expensive council area was Charles Sturt – which spans from Brompton to West Beach and up to West Lakes Shore – where the average premium on a median-priced home of $980,000 was $2593.
Highlighting the need to shop around when purchasing insurance, the first provider’s quote came in at $1644, another was close at $16,39, however a third provider’s quote was a whopping $4496.
The Adelaide Hills was the second-most expensive, with an average premium of $2564 for a $1.075m property.
Unlike in Charles Sturt, just $266 separates all three quotes.
With such a variation between premiums, it pays to shop around and get a few quotes before purchasing insurance. Pic: iStock
Adelaide, Holdfast Bay and Clare and Gilbert Valley council areas rounded out the top five for most expensive premiums.
Surprisingly, the council area with the highest median sale price was one of the cheapest to insure.
Premiums on a median-priced home of $1.65m in Burnside Council would cost you just an average $1515.
Playford had the lowest average premium of any council area at $1261 for a median priced home of $580,000.
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