Insurance Council of Australia

Insurance Council of Australia

  • About us
    • Our Role
    • Our Board & Executive Team
    • Contact us
    • Disclaimer
    • Privacy policy
    • Complaints & concerns
  • Consumers
    • Help in disasters
    • Report fraud
    • Impact of COVID
    • Calculators
    • Insurance explained
    • Find an Insurer
    • My claims history
  • Issues in focus
        • Economy

          • Affordability
          • BI Test cases
          • Cyber risk
        • Climate change

          • Climate action
          • Mitigation
          • Built environment
        • Community

          • Vulnerabilty & hardship
          • Indigenous Australians
          • A resilient Australia
        • Transparency

          • Royal Commission
          • General Insurance
            Code of Practice
  • Code of Practice
    • Code of Practice
    • Code of Practice FAQs
    • Past codes
    • Code Subscribers
  • Industry & members
    • Members & Member brands
    • Data hub
    • Report fraud
    • Submissions
    • Insurance reference services
    • COVID-19 State based exemption
  • News hub
    • News & resources
    • Events
    • Current catastrophes

Buying insurance

Know your worth and avoid underinsurance

September 2, 2021 by Pha Tran

Home Buying insurance

Know your worth and avoid underinsurance

image

Underinsurance is unfortunately common in Australia, making it difficult for those Australians who are underinsured to resume their standard of living – whether it’s rebuilding their home or replacing belongings to the same standard – if their property is badly damaged or destroyed.

Simply put, underinsurance is when you don’t have enough insurance to cover the replacement value of the items you’re insuring. For most people who find themselves underinsured it’s usually because they haven’t properly calculated the current replacement value of their property and belongings.

One of the best ways to prevent underinsurance is to accurately track and calculate the cost of your assets.

Some common causes for underinsurance

Guessing how much it would cost to repair, rebuild or replace property and contents – our top tip to prevent this is to use a building insurance calculator and a contents insurance calculator.

Not accounting for upgrades to your home and belongings – it’s been a time of change for many, with Australians investing in renovations, new furniture, and upgraded appliances. It’s very common to forget to update your insurance following upgrades to home or contents, but this can bite you if you need to make a claim.

Increased building costs – this may be caused by the need to meet updated building codes, building on difficult sites, or rising labour and materials costs.

Supplementary costs – this may include the cost of demolition, clean-up, asbestos removal, council applications, architect, and surveyor services, and even the cost of temporary accommodation during a rebuild.

Not accounting for all your assets – you probably own a lot more than you realise. What about the contents of your garden shed like the lawnmower and your tools? And what about your wardrobe? Six pairs of sensible shoes, three pairs of stilettos, and your expensive running shoes. Would your insurance cover all of this if you had to replace it all?

The key is tracking and calculating

The key to being covered and having enough insurance to repair, rebuild or replace is accurately calculating the value of your property and belongings. Give it a try – you’re likely to be surprised.

Useful links

Help in disasters
icon Lorem ipsum
icon Building insurance calculator
icon Contents insurance calculator

Building insurance calculator

Visit page
images

Contents insurance calculator

Visit page
images

Deferred sales model a win for insurers and consumers

July 8, 2021 by insuranceca

Home Buying insurance

Deferred sales model a win for insurers and consumers

image

News release

Thursday, 8 July 2021

The Insurance Council of Australia welcomes the announcement by the Federal Government today to provide greater certainty on insurance products covered by the deferred sales model so that consumers have the protections they need when buying a range of high-value goods.

The ICA strongly supports the intention of the deferred sales model for add-on insurance which introduces a four-day pause between the sale of a primary product and the sale of an add-on insurance product, to help individual customers make informed decisions when purchasing insurance.

The Government has addressed concerns that the application of the deferred sales model may have led to an increased risk of non-insurance and under-insurance in relation to key insurance products that are essential such as motor, home and contents.

The industry worked closely with the Government to ensure that the deferred sales model was implemented in a way that achieved this policy intent. We identified a limited number of add-on insurance product classes that represented an exceptionally high level of value for customers.

The Government will exempt from the deferred sales model the following classes of insurance products: compulsory third party (CTP) insurance for motor vehicles; third party property damage, fire and theft insurance for motor vehicles; comprehensive insurance for boats, motorcycles, motorhomes, caravans, and trucks; insurance sold within superannuation (including group life insurance); postage and delivery of consumer goods insurance; home building insurance; home and contents insurance; and landlord insurance. Relief will also be provided for wholesale style insurances available to businesses.

The industry is working hard on the implementation of the deferred sales model ahead of the 5 October 2021 start date.

Comment attributable to Andrew Hall, CEO Insurance Council of Australia:

Today’s announcement shows the Government has listened to the concerns of the industry and applied appropriate exemptions, so consumers are able to get immediate insurance cover to protect their valuable purchases.

Importantly for insurers the Government’s decision means the industry has certainty about the implementation of the deferred sales model and can continue to provide valuable support to the economy through the challenges of COVID-19.

The industry continues to be focused on ensuring that we are fully prepared for the commencement of the new legislation, and we look forward to working with the Government on the remaining recommendations of the Hayne Royal Commission.

Useful links

Our Board
icon Deferred sales model a win for insurers and consumers
icon Lorem ipsum
icon Ducimus qui blanditlls

Deferred Sales Model: Wholesale Clients & Transit Insurance

April 20, 2021 by tomdev

The voice for a resilient Australia

We are the representative body of the general insurance industry in Australia, shaping positive outcomes for our members, our people and the community.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Get in touch

We do not offer direct consumer advice or services but we want to help you find what you're looking for in our contact directory.
Contact us

General Insurance Code of Practice

The General Insurance Code of Practice sets out the standards that general insurers must meet when providing services to their customers
Read on

Footer

  • About us
  • Privacy policy
  • Disclaimer

Social

© 2021 Insurance Council of Australia Limited

logo
Suggestions:
data hub, business interruption