How to Save on Insurance in Australia: Health, Car, Home and Life

For most Australians, private health insurance is the largest single insurance cost — often $2,000 to $6,000 per year for a family. The following strategies can meaningfully reduce that cost:

Audit your extras cover: Log into your fund's app and pull last year's claims. If you claimed less in benefits than you paid in extras premiums (after accounting for the government rebate), your extras cover is costing you money. Many Australians systematically overpay for extras. Either cancel extras or downgrade to a lower tier.

Switch hospital tiers: Moving from gold to silver or silver to bronze can reduce premiums by $500 to $1,500 per year for a family. Check what treatments you'd lose access to as a private patient — for most healthy people under 50, gold cover includes many services they'll never use (joint replacement, cataracts, assisted reproduction).

Maximise your excess: A $750 excess (the maximum to remain MLS-exempt for singles) typically costs 10-20% less than a $500 excess. If you're unlikely to be hospitalised this year, the premium saving usually exceeds the extra excess cost.

Use our Health Insurance Rebate Calculator and Private Health Decision Tool to work out the right settings for your situation.

Car insurance premiums have risen sharply in Australia since 2022 — some classes are up 20-30% cumulatively. Here's how to reduce what you pay:

Shop around at every renewal: The loyalty premium is real — existing customers often pay more than new customers for identical cover. Set a calendar reminder one month before your renewal and get at least three quotes. Online comparison sites (comparethemarket.com.au, iselect.com.au) can give you a starting point, but always call your current insurer and ask for a matching offer.

Increase your excess: Doubling your excess (from $500 to $1,000) typically reduces your premium by 15-25%. Only do this if you can comfortably afford to pay the higher excess if you need to make a claim.

Reduce your estimated annual kilometres: If you've shifted to working from home or cycling more, update your estimated kilometres. Insurers rate lower-mileage vehicles as lower risk and charge accordingly.

Check your listed drivers: Young or inexperienced drivers on your policy increase premiums significantly. If a young driver no longer regularly uses the vehicle, review whether they still need to be listed.

Home and contents insurance is easy to set-and-forget — which is exactly why many Australians are significantly overpaying. Building insurance, in particular, is often set based on purchase price rather than replacement cost, leading to over-insurance (you're paying for more coverage than you'd ever receive).

Check your sum insured: Your building sum insured should be the cost to rebuild your home — not its market value. In many areas, rebuild costs are significantly lower than property prices. Use the Cordell Sum Sure calculator (most insurers link to it) to get an accurate estimate.

Bundle with your car insurer: Most insurers offer multi-policy discounts of 5-15% when you hold home and car insurance with the same provider.

Review your contents sum insured: Most households insure more contents than they own. Do a rough room-by-room inventory. If you're insuring $150,000 in contents when you have $80,000 worth, you're paying for cover you'd never collect.

Separate high-value items: Items like jewellery, bicycles, and electronics often have sub-limits under standard policies. If you have specific items worth protecting, schedule them separately — you may be able to reduce your blanket contents cover and save overall.

Australians are often both over-insured (for events that are remote or that they could self-insure) and under-insured (for events that would be catastrophic). The goal is to match cover to genuine need.

Review your super insurance: Most Australians have default life insurance and TPD cover through their superannuation. If you hold additional retail life insurance outside super, you may be doubling up. Your super fund's annual statement shows what cover you hold. Combine this with your external cover before adding more.

Income protection outside super: Income protection premiums paid outside super are tax-deductible — reducing the effective cost by your marginal tax rate. A 37% taxpayer paying $2,000 per year in income protection premiums effectively pays $1,260 after the deduction. This makes retail income protection significantly more affordable than it first appears.

Step down life cover: Many life insurance needs reduce over time as your mortgage decreases, children become financially independent, and superannuation grows. Review your sum insured every few years and step it down accordingly — premiums are directly related to the amount of cover.

See our Salary Sacrifice Calculator to model how premiums interact with your salary package and tax position.

Is it worth using an insurance broker?
For complex insurance needs (business insurance, specialist life cover, large properties), a broker adds value by accessing products not available retail and structuring cover correctly. For standard home, car, and health insurance, direct comparison is usually sufficient and saves the broker commission (typically 15-20% of premium).

How often should I review my insurance?
At a minimum, annually at renewal. Also review after major life events: buying a home, having a child, getting married or divorced, changing jobs significantly, or a large purchase (new car, renovation).

Does claiming make my insurance more expensive?
Yes, in most cases. Making a claim is often reflected in a higher premium at renewal — sometimes for two to three years. For small claims (under $1,000-$2,000), it's often worth paying out of pocket and preserving your no-claim history. Run the maths before claiming.

Can I negotiate my premium with my current insurer?
Yes. Call and ask. If you have a competing quote, share it. Most insurers have retention teams with authority to match or beat competitor pricing to keep your business. This works particularly well for car and home insurance.

What's the best health insurance comparison tool in Australia?
The government's privatehealth.gov.au is the official comparison site. Our Health Insurance Rebate Calculator and Private Health Decision Tool help you model the financial impact of different choices.