Home insurance renewal prices explained

The two main factors that affect the price of your insurance are the likelihood of a claim being made on your policy in the future and the anticipated cost of a claim if this happens. Your premium is likely to change year to year, even if your personal circumstances remain the same, based on a range of factors.

Your premium is calculated by considering and combining:

• choice of excess
• policy options
• pricing factors, like how your home is occupied or your address
• minimum and maximum premium
• cost of choosing to pay by the month
• discounts you're eligible for
  
• government charges.

To understand how these things may affect your premium, check out our Home Insurance Premium, Excess and Discounts Guide (PDF, 73KB).

There are a few things you can do to help reduce your premium:

Increase your excess
Choosing a higher basic excess may reduce your premium. But remember: if you make a claim, you’ll pay more out of pocket.

You can change your basic excess at your policy renewal time through your online account.

Pay annually
When you pay your insurance upfront, instead of in monthly instalments, you may pay less.

Add more policies
When you have two or more eligible RACV Insurance policies, you’ll save 10% off each thanks to the Multi-Policy Discount*. That means combined building and contents policies automatically save.
But it’s not just for home insurance – all RACV motor, caravan and trailer, and boat insurance policies are also eligible.

Stick with RACV
The longer you’re a Member, the more you can save on RACV Insurance policies (and other eligible products) with our Years of Membership Benefits loyalty discounts program#*. It’s our way of thanking you for staying with us.

^{#RACV Years of Membership: at 5 years Bronze cardholders receive a 5% discount, at 10 years Silver cardholders receive a 10% discount, at 25 years Gold cardholders receive a 15% discount and at 51 years Gold 50 cardholders receive a 20% discount.}

^{* The Multi-Policy Discount and Years of Membership Benefits exclude Travel, Business and Farm Insurance products. To qualify for the Multi-Policy Discount, you must hold two eligible RACV Insurance policies. For further details, see the Premium, Excess and Discounts guide at racv.com.au. Discounts will only be applied until any applicable minimum premium is reached. On renewal, any increases or decreases in your premium may be limited by factors such as your previous year’s premium. You may not save more with more eligible policies and by staying with RACV Insurance longer if a minimum premium is reached, or limits have been applied to increases or decrease in your premium.}

There are a few things that may impact the cost of your insurance year-on-year, like inflation, increased wild weather and reinsurance costs. They can vary each year, as your premium does, even if you've never made a claim and your personal circumstances haven't changed.

Extreme weather events like bushfires and floods have also become more frequent and more severe. This has contributed to increased risk of a major event happening and rising costs associated to repair and rebuild, like the cost of skilled trades and raw materials.

RACV Insurance can help protect what matters to you the most, should you ever need to make a claim. As an RACV Member, you can manage your premium with flexible excess options, monthly and annual payment options.

To understand how we work out your premium, check out our Home Insurance Premium, Excess and Discounts Guide (PDF, 73KB).

There are three types of excess:

Basic excess
This is how much you pay when making a claim, including claims for fusion cover and portable items (if you’ve added them to your policy).

Your basic excess can be $100, $200, $300, $500, $750, $1,000, $2,000, $3,000, $4,000 or $5,000. If you’re aged 50 or older, you can choose a $0 basic excess. Remember, choosing a higher basic excess can reduce your premium.

You can change your basic excess at your policy renewal time through your online account.

Accidental damage excess
If you choose to add accidental damage cover and make a claim, you’ll pay a $300 excess instead of your basic excess.

Special excess
If a special excess applies to your policy, you’ll need to pay this as well as your basic excess.

Yes, you can choose monthly direct debit instalments, or one annual payment. Keep in mind that if you pay annually, you'll save some money.

If you're taking out a new policy, you can choose your payment frequency when you sign up. Already have a policy? Call 1300 610 377 to switch to monthly payments at renewal time.

The amount you insure your home and contents for (we call that the 'sum insured') should be enough to rebuild your home or replace your contents if you had to do it today.

Remember, when we talk about your home, we don't just mean the building itself. If you have things like fences, sheds, in-ground pools, or covered car spaces, they count too.

There are a few things to think about:

• If you underinsure your home and contents, you may be caught short if you have to totally rebuild and replace them.
• If you insure your home and contents for more than it costs to rebuild and replace them, you'll only be able to claim the actual cost to do so.
• Your building sum insured will be different to the market value of your home, which you might find on a property valuation, because it doesn't include the land value.
• Make sure you include the cost of demolition and debris removal, building and planning professionals, plus any statutory or regulatory requirements. 

You can use our buildings calculator and contents calculator as a guide.^{^}

Sometimes things happen that are beyond our control which can make it difficult for us to keep up to date with paying bills. If you need financial hardship support with any of your RACV products or services, we're here to help in any way we can.

We're happy to talk about your options if you call us on 13 15 60, or you can find out more about the financial hardship support we offer.