- New survey reveals 72.1% of Australian households have not updated their contents cover since purchasing a major household item.
- Older Australians tend to update policies more frequently.
- Tasmanian households found to have the highest median contents valuation nationally.
Australian households have been found to be largely not up to date with their contents insurance. That’s according to a new study by Compare the Market, in which more than 3,000 people across Australia, America and Canada were surveyed.
Australia’s national median contents cover valuation was found to be $50,000, while Tasmania’s median contents valuation was found to be far and away the highest at $120,000.
The study found that older Australians tended to update their insurance more frequently than younger Australians.
Of those surveyed, as a whole, Australians had the most understanding of their contents policies and level of cover when compared to Americans and Canadians.
Young Australians were the least likely to have neither home nor contents insurance, while Australians aged 58 and older were 20.0% more likely to have some form of cover.
| When did you last update your home and/or contents insurance policy? | 18-26 years | 27-41 years | 42-57 years | 58+ years |
| Within the last year | 35.1% | 45.6% | 45.5% | 61.3% |
| More than a year ago | 9.5% | 11.5% | 13.1% | 10.7% |
| More than 2 years ago | 4.1% | 11.1% | 11.5% | 12.3% |
| I have never updated it | 16.9% | 9.4% | 6.6% | 3.4% |
| I don’t have either | 34.5% | 22.3% | 23.4% | 12.3% |
Compare the Market’s Executive General Manager of General Insurance, Adrian Taylor, notes the importance of accurately assessing the value of your contents when taking out contents insurance.
“It’s good to see that the majority of those surveyed have some form of home or contents insurance,” Mr Taylor said.
“Contents insurance can provide homeowners and tenants peace of mind.
“When taking out contents insurance, it’s important to accurately assess the value of your household items to ensure that you are properly covered.
“Underinsuring your belongings could result in your insurance payout being less than the loss you suffered.
“The same goes for anyone taking out home buildings insurance. It is important to ensure you have an understanding of rebuilding cost in order to stay properly covered.”
Always read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and Target Market Determination (TMD) to check for the inclusions, limits and restrictions before purchasing to make sure the product is suitable.
For full results, please visit: Underinsured Contents
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For interviews and more information, please contact:
Lachlan Moore | [email protected]
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