Insurance brokers step up for Aussie families combating cost of living pressures

Insurance brokers are stepping up to help Australian families find savings in a challenging economic environment.

With ongoing cost of living pressures – the inflation rate was above 4% at the end of the last quarter of 2023 – insurance brokers are stepping up to help Australian families find savings in a challenging economic environment. The efforts of insurance brokers were highlighted by national broadcaster Channel Seven in a special, investigative report earlier this week.

Pressures of premium pricing

Being able to manage the pressures around pricing of premiums amidst an ongoing cost of living crisis is one of the major challenges in the current landscape. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), in the 12 months to the December 2023 quarter, insurance prices rose 16.2%.

In its latest Annual Report, Andrew Hall, CEO of The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA), noted that “all lines of insurance were impacted by rising premiums” and categorised the challenges faced by the insurance industry in 2023 as the “most complex” in a period of over two decades.

The number of severe weather events that Australia has faced recently is one factor that’s impacting insurance premiums. Data from the ICA highlights that a series of cyclones, floods and storms that impacted Australia’s east coast in December 2023 ended up costing $1.3bn in insured losses.

The threat of underinsurance and a growing protection gap 

As Australian families look at managing cost of living challenges along with premium pricing pressures, it brings to the fore the threat of underinsurance and concerns around a growing protection gap that should not be underestimated.

Hall underlines in the ICA Annual Report that this protection gap is the industry’s most “pressing concern” – it’s now “estimated by Swiss Re to be at 35% in Australia, and growing.”

Watch Channel Seven’s investigative report below to find out more about the significant role that insurance brokers are playing in assisting Australians to combat cost of living pressures and helping protect them from being underinsured.