Published on Friday, 24 January 2020 at 10:40:48 AM
The Town of Port Hedland is calling for State and Federal Government action in response to the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) release of the Northern Australia Insurance Inquiry’s second interim report.
The report finds that Port Hedland based residents and businesses face the highest insurance costs in Australia, experiencing significant cost increases in recent years far exceeding the rest of northern Australia.
Action is required on the State and Federal government level to alleviate the cost pressures experienced by local insurance consumers, such as the 75% increase in strata premiums in the last 10 years.
In the 2018/19 financial year, the median cost of home and contents insurance in Port Hedland was $4638: 3.3 times the national average.
The large number of uninsured and under-insured properties presents a potentially a catastrophic situation should a natural disaster impact town properties.
Hon. Commissioner Fred Riebeling said the Town fully endorsed the recommendations of the ACCC’s report, emphasising the need to ease costs on local households and businesses.
“With home and contents insurance costs in Port Hedland more than 3 times the national average, all levels of government need to work proactively to reverse these unsustainable price increases.
“Paradoxically, actual insurance claims in Port Hedland have been modest and well below the average for northern Australia.
“In line with the ACCC recommendations, we are calling for the State Government to immediately abolish stamp duty on insurance premiums for all households and businesses in the Pilbara and Kimberley region.
“We support the State Government directing a portion of stamp duties revenues on insurance products towards affordability measures for low income consumers.
“We support the introduction of state parliament legislation that compels insurance companies to share aggregate information with state and local governments to help improve local planning and building regulations.
“We support the state government to initiate discussions with RAC to supply home insurance to northern WA.
“We urge the Federal Government to implement a targeted subsidy for insurance premiums in Northern Australia, informed by income eligibility requirements.
“We call on the Federal Government to establish a mechanism for all major insurance companies to enable the payment of premiums through Centrepay, as well as ensuring a system is in place for insurers to offer premium discounts for risk mitigation measures.
“The Town wishes to see tangible, actionable measures taken in the short term to help reduce insurance costs and ease the pressure on the costs of living and running a business in Port Hedland.”
Click here to access the Northern Australia Insurance Inquiry second interim report.
For media information:
Laura Hawes
Manager Marketing Communication and Events
(08) 9158 9365 | lhawes@porthedland.wa.gov.au
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