What Aussies Want in Home & Contents Insurance

What the thousands of Canstar users are clicking on with regards to home insurance.

The home insurance section of Canstar’s website has thousands of visits each month. Based on the click behaviours of these visitors, we can gain an understanding of what people want to know about home insurance, and what people want in a policy.

What people want in a home insurance policy

By analysing the searches on our home insurance comparison table, we can judge what people want in a policy. The below information is based on all searches conducted between the 1^st of July 2015 to the 7^th of April 2016. The percentage values represent the distribution of usage for each specific filter.

What’s the most popular type of home insurance?

1. Home and contents (69.27%)
2. Contents only (16.60%)
3. Building only (14.12%)

A home and contents packaged policy is by far the most popularly searched policy, as opposed to stand-alone contents and building insurance policies.

Most Popular Features

Users can filter their options on the comparison table by selecting the features they desire. There are four features users can select. This was how they ranked in popularity:

1. No claims bonus discount 34.43%
2. Pay monthly at no extra cost 30.46%
3. One excess for both claims 18.70%
4. 24 hour claims line 16.41%

Contents Insurance Inclusions:

In a similar way, users can filter their options by the contents inclusions. This was how the contents inclusions ranked in popularity:

1. Accidental breakage cover 20.67%
2. New for old contents cover 20.27%
3. Theft or attempted theft cover 18.98%
4. Portable item cover available 13.82%
5. Cover on unoccupied house 10.60%
6. Specified portable item cover 10.25%
7. Visitor belongings cover 5.41%

Flood inclusions:

Users can also filter their options by flood inclusions. This was how they ranked in popularity:

1. Storm surge flood cover 35.08%
2. Flash flooding 28.02%
3. Flood cover opt out 19.72%
4. Riverine Flood Cover 17.18%

What people want to learn about

By looking at the most viewed articles, we can discover what people are keenest to find more information about when it comes to home insurance.

In the year so far (between the 1^st of January and 11^th of April), these were the most popular home insurance articles on our website:

1. “How much is enough?”: The most popular article, “How much is enough?”, touches on the issue of underinsurance. The fact that this was the most viewed article suggests that many Australians are unsure of what the adequate amount of insurance cover is. We know this is true, with recent research from the Insurance Council of Australia finding that 83 per cent of Australian homeowners and renters are underinsured for their home and contents.

2. “Glossary of terms”: The large number of views of our “Glossary of terms” page suggests many people have a hard time deciphering policies. Given how convoluted and unclear insurance product disclosure statements can be, this is understandable.

3. “Make money by renting out a room”: This article alludes to the sharing economy – a concept which is particularly topical at the moment. It seems many of our users are clicking on these articles because they’re intrigued by this new trend. Also, many readers probably like the sound of earning extra money.

4. “What does landlord insurance cover you for?”: With property investment all the rage in Australia these days – not to mention online accommodation sites such as Airbnb and Stayz – there’s been an influx of landlords in Australia. Many of these landlords would probably be interested in taking out a landlord insurance policy, which would explain why our “What does landlord insurance cover you for?” article is popular.

5. “Employ a cleaner? Make sure you’re covered”: Despite it’s old age, this article continues to receive a large number of reads. This is probably because many people are interested to know what they’re liable for when they employ domestic workers.

What do you want in a policy? Compare Home and Contents Insurance.