Insurance firms offer cheaper policies for FNQ property owners

FROM PAGE 1

He said one of the reasons for the “lag time” was that most of the companies were waiting until their overseas reinsurance contracts expired.

Alex Lo said his renewal for a $650,000 four-bedroom, two-bathroom house at Trinity Park had risen from $5000 last year to $8500.

“It’s gone up 70 per cent in one year,” he said.

Mr Lo said he contacted Mr Enstch who suggested he check out Sure or Al- lianz. He said Sure’s quote was $4350, a $4000-plus saving, but he also sought a quote from AAMI, which was $3437.

“I will be going with Sure or AAMI but I haven’t decided.”

Allianz Australia says its home insurance and landlord insurance products are now available direct to consumers in areas of northern Queensland where they weren’t previously following the firm joining the Federal Governmentbacked cyclone reinsurance pool (CRP).

Allianz Australia managing director

Richard Feledy said it included over 100 new postcodes, involving major towns and cities in Queensland, as well as Cairns.

He said the CRP had been introduced with the aim to lower insurance premiums for home, strata, and small business policyholders with high cyclone and related flood risk by reducing the cost of reinsurance for insurers. “Given the increasing severity and/or frequency of extreme weather, coupled with rising inflation, the need for premium relief in communities exposed to cyclones and associated flooding is timely,” he said.

“Allianz has put in place an accelerated program of work to transfer our householders portfolio to the CRP as soon as possible and looks forward to extending the benefits of the CRP to our small business and residential strata portfolios in the future.”

Sure Insurance managing director Bradley Heath said the considered decision to join the pool earlier than required reinforced Sure’s solid commitment to the delivery of affordable household and residential strata insurance premiums across regional Queensland.

“Sure Insurance, a premium price leader since entering the regional and North Queensland general insurance markets in mid-2019, has delivered on average annual household insurance premium savings of $1480 or 30 per cent per customer,” he said. “As we fully transition into the pool, Sure will continue to ensure we provide our policyholders with the best deal that we can.”