On 25 May 2017, the Australian Government directed the ACCC to conduct a wide-ranging inquiry into the supply of residential building (home), contents and strata insurance in northern Australia.

Our inquiry commenced on 1 July 2017 to address concerns about insurance availability and affordability, promote more informed and more competitive insurance markets, and make a difference for consumers in northern Australia.

On 18 December 2018, we released our first interim report for the inquiry.

On 20 December 2019, we released our second interim report.

On 28 December 2020, we released our final report.

Scope of inquiry

Matters to be considered by the inquiry shall include, but not be restricted to:

  • pricing and availability of insurance to consumers in northern Australia
  • key cost components of insurance pricing in northern Australia and how they have changed over time, particularly catastrophe risk
  • terms and conditions on which insurance is supplied
  • competitiveness of markets for insurance in northern Australia
  • existence and extent of any barriers to entry, expansion and/or exit in the supply of insurance in northern Australia
  • any impediments to consumer choice, including transaction costs, a lack of transparent information, or other factors
  • identifying any regulatory issues, or market participant behaviour or practices that may not be supporting the development of competitive markets for insurance in northern Australia
  • the profitability of insurers through time and the extent to which profits are, or are expected to be commensurate with risk.