How I saved almost $4000 on my home and contents insurance, and what lessons I learned

We got the email almost a year after we moved into the house. Our insurance was going up. By a lot.

It took a couple of re-reads before my partner and I could accept what was written there on the phone screen – to keep our home and contents insurance policy with the same insurer, we’d have to pay almost $5,800. That was a jump of more than $2,000 from our annual premium the year before.

While we knew that home insurance costs have been rising across Australia, the increase came as a bit of a shock. The fact that we’d had to make a fairly substantial claim (thanks, flooded laundry) within the past year probably didn’t help. But with the cost of living rising everywhere from the bank to the petrol bowser, this was a price hike our household budget couldn’t easily absorb.

Naturally, we set about looking for ways to save on our home and contents insurance. After some stressful evenings researching and comparing options, we found an alternative policy from another insurer for just $1865 – almost $4000 less than what our original insurer wanted!

Here’s how we got there, and in doing so, the lessons we learned:

Comparing your options can pay off

It may not surprise you to learn that our first step was to get quotes from other insurers to compare. We looked at everyone from the big insurers to the little guys, to make sure we had the most information possible about what cover we could get, how much it could cost, and the level of value we could enjoy.

We were surprised by what we found. For example, did you know that some insurance policies offered by the supermarkets are actually underwritten by award-winning home insurers? It’s similar with some of the more budget home insurance providers, which may effectively be subsidiaries of much larger insurers.

Yes, it’s a hassle providing your details to multiple insurers, and repetitive answering the same questions again and again. But the results speak for themselves. Canstar’s 2026 Cost of Living Comparison found that switching from an average home insurance policy to a 5-star policy could potentially save you an average of $789 annually – depending on your financial situation, the savings could be more or less for you.

You might already have discounts waiting for you

We already had a car insurance policy in place with a different insurer to our home and contents insurance policy. When we got an online quote from this insurer, we found that we could potentially enjoy not just one, but multiple discounts, including:

• A bundle discount for taking out both home and contents insurance
• An online discount for buying a policy online
• A multi-policy discount for having car, home and contents insurance all with the same insurer.

While not the only factor, these combined discounts likely contributed to the final price this insurer offered for our home and contents insurance.

While it worked for us, it’s worth remembering that bundling multiple policies with the same insurer is not always cheaper. Depending on your own circumstances, your budget may be better served by taking out separate home and contents policies.

According to Canstar director of data insights, Sally Tindall, bundle deals and discounts should not be your sole focus when looking for insurance. “These discounts are often used as marketing tools to make a policy seem more attractive—but the final price and the coverage offered are what truly matter.”

Your excess and sum insured matter

The second-last thing we did to help lower our premiums was to double our home insurance excess. Yes, we’ll pay more if we need to make a claim, but it’s still an amount we could reasonably afford to cover in a worst-case scenario.

Finally, we slightly reduced the sum insured amount on our contents insurance. While this could potentially put us at greater risk of underinsurance, the amount was based on the insurer’s own contents calculator, so we were still confident it could cover replacing our belongings in a pinch.

Another option we considered but decided against was lowering the sum insured amount on our building insurance – we didn’t want to risk our home itself being underinsured. Some insurers do offer a “safety net” or similarly-named feature that can boost your sum insured by a pre-set percentage if the amount you need to rebuild your home falls short. That said, some insurers only offer this feature on higher-tier policies, or offer it as an optional extra, meaning you could end up paying a higher premium regardless.

That said, it’s better to be safe than sorry when it comes to home insurance, so it’s important to make sure you’re covered in the event that your home is destroyed and needs to be rebuilt.

A final word – premium cost does not always equal policy value

Before you go jumping ship to another insurer, remember the old saying – you get what you pay for. The more home insurance cover you want, the more you can usually expect to pay in premiums. Likewise, if you want to pay less for insurance, you may need to settle for a lower level of cover.

This means that the cheapest deal may not always be the best option for you. For example, if you have a young family and pets, you may get more value from an insurance policy that offers free temporary accommodation and kennelling after an insured event like a house fire, rather than opting for a cheaper deal. When comparing your options, look at the price, but also consider the value you’ll get.