Car insurance premiums are rising, especially for Gen-Xers, leading 15,000 people to come together to fight the increase.
Around 15,000 individuals have signed up for the Big Insurance Switch movement under the One Big Switch consumer network. The campaign aims to unite customers for cheaper home and auto cover, and hopes to gather 30,000 members by the end of this month.
According to data from financial service analyst
Canstar, the price of motor insurance for drivers aged 30-49 has gone up by 13% in NSW and South Australia, 8% in Queensland, and 15% in Victoria. For an average small car, this could mean yearly premium increases of AU$50 to $120.
Rookie drivers won’t encounter premium increases in Queensland and NSW, and hikes of just 4% in SA and Victoria. However, they still have to pay up to twice as much for coverage.
Canstar spokesperson Justine Davies advised drivers to shop around to get their money’s worth for motor insurance. But she warned consumers that not all affordable policies are worth their premiums.
“There’s a big difference between cheap and good value and cheap and nasty,” she told
News Corp Australia. “That’s a difference you don’t want to discover at the time you go to make a claim.”
Meanwhile, Joel Gibson, One Big Switch’s campaign director, said that prices for similar policies can have up to an 80% difference.
“On home and car insurance it’s very hard to shop around,” he said. “The Federal Government has built energy and health insurance comparison websites. They’ve worked very successfully and give consumers the power to make good decisions.
“We think something similar would give consumers of home and car insurance the ability to know if they are paying hundreds of dollars too much.”
Senator Nick Xenophon announced that he would relay the proposal to create a comparison website to the Senate Economics Committee for study. The Federal Opposition has expressed agreement to this idea.
“Labor is open to any sensible reform which improves consumers’ access to information and which promotes confidence in the insurance industry,” said Katy
Gallagher, the party’s spokesperson for financial services.
Financial Services Minister Kelly O’Dwyer has yet to issue a comment, while major insurers have expressed opposition to the initiative.
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