ROBYN Chisler was horrified to open an email and find her home and contents insurance had risen by almost $1000.
"I was dumbfounded when I opened that email on Sunday night," she said.
The 57-year-old lives in Fern Bay with her husband in a home they own, which is insured with NRMA.
"Last year we paid $2200 and this year it's gone up a little over $3000 - nothing has changed on our policy," she said.
Mrs Chisler has been an NRMA customer for nearly 40 years since owning her first home at age 19, and says she is "absolutely disappointed" with the current circumstance.
"We got the email and we rang them and asked a few questions on the increase, their comment was that there's been a lot of people putting claims in hence why insurance has gone up," she said.
"It's absolutely disappointing - they say they give us a discount because we've got everything with them and my husband is a life member."
An NRMA Insurance spokesperson told the Newcastle Herald a customer's premium reflects a range of factors "including our view on the level of risk at their property, the customer's exposure to severe weather, claims history, the cost of claims we receive, our reinsurance expenses and government taxes and levies".
Premiums rising
The Fern Bay couple are not alone in increased insurance costs with the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) saying as extreme weather events like floods worsen, so does the cost of insurance.
"Wherever you live in Australia - whether you're directly exposed to extreme weather impacts or not - premium prices are rising because of the escalating costs of natural disasters, the growing value of our assets making them more costly to replace, inflation driving up building and vehicle repair costs, and the increasing cost of capital for insurers," an ICA spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said to put downward pressure on premiums and make Australia safer, governments must invest in resilience-building measures for continued insurability for high-risk regions, like the Hunter Valley, which is at heightened risk of floods and bushfire.
"This can include household-level resilience such as retrofitting, and projects that protect the community like levees and floodways," the spokesperson said.
"In some extreme cases this may include buying back properties and returning the land to some other use."
Mrs Chisler said in her 38 years of being an NRMA customer, she has not once made a claim.
"I don't understand, I'm a bit blown away," she said.
The NRMA spokesperson said inflation was also a factor in premiums rising, along with the ongoing cost pressures from global supply chain bottlenecks, the culmination of major weather events in the past few years and rising reinsurance costs.
"We always look to keep insurance as affordable as possible for our customers and decisions around premium increases are never easy," they said.
"We understand the impact of the current cost of living pressures on households and businesses and we're working hard to keep premium rises to a minimum. We also have support measures in place to help customers experiencing financial hardship."
'Loyalty penalty'
Mrs Chisler said the increase alerted her to check all existing policies from health to car insurance and "compare the market", and has made the decision to take her cover elsewhere.
"Now we will leave because we have spoken to them and they've budged by a hundred dollars but now we are getting insurance via a cheaper Australian company that will give us everything for what we paid last year," she said.
Consumer advocacy group, CHOICE insurance expert Jodi Bird said while different insurers have different risk profiles, another way they bump prices up is through a "loyalty penalty".
"Basically if they see you're more likely to stay with the same insurance, they might add a little bit of a premium on top of your premium and start charging you more because they know they can and you won't change," he said.
He said that was the number one reason policy holders should shop around at renewal time. Other things that will help consumers is asking for price matches, looking at reducing coverage, and bundling home and car insurances.
"Definitely question the insurer, another thing you can do is get a quote from your current insurer as a new customer and you'll find that you'll actually get a cheaper price," he said.
"You really need to shop around and find an insurer that's willing to give you cover at the right price."
Mrs Chisler said she was disgusted with insurance companies and encouraged people to check their policies for changes.
"Check your policies compare the market. I'm doing it with all of it at the moment. I'm constantly comparing the market. I'm keeping a close eye on it, I won't let things slide," she said.
Mrs Chisler said she felt for young home owners and families with mortgages who are fronted with high costs.
"I don't know how they do it. My husband and I still work full time, we are lucky we own our home but we've worked very hard to get to this point," she said.
"With our economy the way it is - jumping it up so high - a thousand dollars is way too much. I'm just really horrified and sad it's gotten to this.
"I feel for the young ones coming out into this economy and how they can afford their own home in today's world."
"I don't know how anyone with a young family can bring up their families and be home for their kids and pay these high fees and necessities that we need to have."
