Your Insurance Renewal Went Up Again. Here Is What You Can Do About It.
The renewal notice arrives. Your premium has gone up. You did not make any claims. Nothing about your property changed. The letter offers a vague line about "market conditions" and asks you to call if you have questions.
Most Australians pay it. AFCA received 34,231 general insurance complaints in 2024-25, a 17% increase on the previous year. A significant portion involve exactly this situation: customers questioning premium increases that seem to have no basis.
You have more rights than your insurer will volunteer. Here is what the data shows and what you can actually do.
Why Premiums Keep Rising at Renewal
Insurers will cite several reasons and most of them are real. Reinsurance costs have risen sharply because global insurers are pricing in climate-related losses. Building costs have increased, which means claims are more expensive to settle. Extreme weather events in Australia, from the 2022 floods to repeated cyclone seasons, have cost the industry billions.
These are legitimate factors. But they do not explain the full picture.
The other reason premiums rise at renewal is simpler: because they can. Research consistently shows that most Australian policyholders renew without shopping around. Insurers know this. Raising premiums incrementally for existing customers while advertising competitive rates for new ones is a business model, not a coincidence.
Existing customers pay an average of 34% more than new customers for an equivalent policy by year two or three. This is the loyalty tax. The UK banned the practice in 2022. Australia has not.
The one reform that has happened: from 1 July 2021, insurers have been required to show your previous year's premium on every renewal notice. This makes the increase visible. It does not stop the increase from happening.
What the Law Actually Says About Renewal Increases
Insurers in Australia are generally free to set premiums at renewal. There is no legislated cap on how much they can increase your premium year-on-year for home or contents insurance. They can increase it as much as they like.
What they cannot do is mislead you about the reason. Under the Australian Consumer Law and the Insurance Contracts Act 1984, insurers must not make false or misleading statements about your policy, and they must act in good faith. If an insurer tells you your premium rose because of your claims history and that is not true, that is a problem. But proving intent is hard.
What you do have a right to is information. You can ask your insurer to explain in writing exactly why your premium increased. They are obliged to respond. If they cannot or will not provide a clear explanation, document that and keep it.
Your AFCA Rights
If you believe a premium increase was applied unfairly, in a discriminatory way, or based on incorrect information about your property or claims history, you can complain to AFCA (the Australian Financial Complaints Authority) after your insurer has had a chance to respond to your complaint internally.
AFCA is free to use and its determinations are binding on financial firms. In 2024-25, AFCA resolved over 100,000 complaints. You do not need a lawyer.
How to Push Back on a Renewal Increase
Before you cancel or accept, try this sequence.
Step 1: Get a competing quote first. Do not call your insurer until you have a real alternative price in front of you. A competing quote for equivalent cover is the only leverage you have in that conversation. Make sure the sum insured, excess, and inclusions are comparable, not just the premium figure.
Step 2: Call and ask directly. Tell them you have a lower quote and you are considering switching. Ask if they can match it. Ask them to explain the specific reason your premium increased. Many insurers have a retention team whose job is to keep you from leaving. They have more flexibility than the standard renewal letter suggests.
Step 3: Check the details on your renewal notice. Errors happen. Wrong construction type, incorrect year built, outdated claims history. Any incorrect fact on your policy record can inflate your premium. Ask for a copy of your underwriting information and verify it.
Step 4: Consider adjusting your excess. If you are not in a position to switch right now, raising your excess is the fastest way to reduce your premium without changing insurers. Increasing from $500 to $1,500 or $2,000 on a home building policy can reduce the annual premium by a meaningful amount. Only do this if you can genuinely afford the higher excess on a claim.
When to Switch
Switch when the gap between your renewal premium and a comparable new-customer quote is more than $200. At that point, the paperwork involved in switching insurers is worth an hour of your time.
Switch also if your insurer cannot explain the increase clearly, if your premium has risen more than 15% with no change to your circumstances, or if the retention team offer you a discount that still leaves you well above new-customer rates. A mid-year discount that still leaves you 25% above what a new customer would pay is not a win.
Do not switch based on price alone. A cheaper premium that comes with a higher excess, narrower flood definition, or key exclusions you missed is not a better deal. Read the PDS before you cancel anything.
The Bigger Problem
Individual negotiation helps. But the underlying dynamic, where loyalty is punished and inertia is monetised, does not change unless consumers make switching the norm rather than the exception.
1.61 million Australian households are now in insurance affordability stress, up 30% in just one year. For many, the issue is not just being overcharged. It is whether they can afford adequate cover at all. Pushing back on a renewal increase is the right first step. Knowing exactly what a fair premium looks like for your property is the next one.
Know What You Should Be Paying
Upload your renewal notice or policy PDF. Centza gives you a Savings Score showing whether your premium is reasonable, inflated, or significantly above what comparable Australians pay. No commissions, no referrals. Just the analysis.
Check My Policy Now