How to reduce your insurance premium (Australia)
Practical, legitimate ways to lower your car, home and other insurance premiums in Australia — adjusting excess and sum insured, bundling, using discounts, paying annually, and reviewing at every renewal.
Premiums have been climbing across Australia, and while you cannot control industry-wide costs, you can control how much you leave on the table. These are legitimate ways to lower what you pay — without gutting your cover or under-insuring, which only trades a small saving now for a large shortfall at claim time.
Adjust your excess
A higher voluntary excess almost always lowers your premium. The trade-off is that you pay more out of pocket when you claim, so only raise it to a level you could genuinely afford tomorrow. For careful drivers and owners who rarely claim, this is one of the simplest levers.
Get the sum insured right — not just low
On home cover, an automatically indexed sum insured can drift higher than you need and lift the premium with it. Make sure the rebuild or replacement figure is realistic. But resist the temptation to deliberately under-insure to save money — if disaster strikes you could be left tens of thousands short.
Strip out what you don't use
- Hire car after an accident, if you have a second car
- Roadside assistance you already get from a motoring club
- Portable contents cover for items you do not carry
- Optional extras added years ago and forgotten
Use every discount you qualify for
Ask your insurer directly what discounts apply — you may be missing some:
- Multi-policy / bundling — home and car with the same insurer
- No claim bonus — protect your rating; a small claim can cost you more in lost discount than it pays
- Security and safety — alarms, immobilisers, deadlocks
- Loyalty or online — some insurers discount online purchases or long-term customers
Pay annually, not monthly
Monthly instalments are convenient but many insurers add a premium for them. If you can manage the lump sum, paying annually often works out cheaper over the year.
Compare — and be willing to switch
Insurers frequently offer their sharpest prices to new customers, so loyalty can quietly cost you. Get a couple of comparison quotes before each renewal. Even if you decide to stay, a cheaper quote elsewhere is real leverage when you call your insurer's retention team to ask for a better price.
Review at every renewal
The habit that saves the most money is simply reviewing each policy before it renews — checking the new premium against last year, adjusting cover, and shopping around. The hard part is remembering to do it across several policies that all renew on different dates.
@insuro.com.auaddress. Free during beta.Frequently asked questions
How can I lower my car insurance premium?⌄
Raise your voluntary excess if you can afford it, remove unused optional extras, keep your no claim bonus intact, ask about available discounts, pay annually rather than monthly, and compare quotes at each renewal. Never lower your cover or under-insure just to cut the price.
Does paying annually save money on insurance?⌄
Usually yes. Many insurers charge more overall for monthly instalments than for a single annual payment, so paying yearly can be cheaper if you can manage the lump sum.
Does bundling policies reduce premiums?⌄
Often. Holding multiple policies (for example home and car) with the same insurer can attract a multi-policy discount. Always check that each bundled policy is still competitively priced on its own, though.
Is it worth switching insurers to save money?⌄
Frequently, yes. Insurers often price new customers more keenly than loyal ones, so comparing and being willing to switch — or using a competitor quote to negotiate — can meaningfully reduce what you pay.
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