Generic image of insurance, homes, houses. Photo: 123rf
An Australian insurer has been told to unwind a 60 percent increase to a customer's insurance premiums after the person complained - but New Zealand policyholders do not have the same recourse.
ABC reported the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) ordered the massive increase be scrapped, because it was not convinced the insurer applied "the significant increase in premium fairly or that it justified its position".
Suncorp is one of Australia and New Zealand's biggest insurers with brands including Vero and Asteron Life.
Data earlier this year showed New Zealand home insurance premiums were up more than 20 percent on average in a year, although premium increases were understood to have stabilised since then.
Alexandra Kelly from the Australian Financial Rights Legal Centre told ABC the case meant more people should take on their insurer over premium increases.
"I would be much more encouraging, now that we have confirmation that the ombudsman is putting the onus back on the insurer and questioning if they're not providing sufficient information."
In response, New Zealand's Insurance and Financial Ombudsman scheme said it could not consider cases like the Australian one because its rules did not let it consider complaints about premiums.
"However, we do get a lot of people contacting us about premium increases - it has been one of our top five complaint enquiry issues in the past year.
"While the IFSO Scheme is very pleased to know that consumers know where to take their insurance complaints, we recognise that many New Zealanders have been struggling due to the rising cost of living, and know the added burden of increased insurance premiums is putting a lot of pressure on household budgets.
"We are seeing the increased number of complaints to the IFSO Scheme as a result of more severe weather events and more frequently occurring natural disasters.
"As an ombudsman service, the IFSO Scheme is neutral and can only look at complaints about premiums when an insurer has not done what it said it would do; it cannot look at premiums increasing on a regular basis, or in age-related bands, as set out in the policy.
"If consumers have information to show that the increase in their premiums is incorrect or unreasonable, we recommend they request a review through their insurer's internal complaints process. If they're not happy with the complaint response, they can contact the IFSO Scheme to see whether it is a case we can consider. Otherwise, they may need to consider referring their complaint to the Disputes Tribunal or District Court."
Consumer NZ insurance specialist Rebecca Styles said there should be a mechanism for consumers to contest price.
"There should be more transparency about how premiums are calculated, especially given risk is increasingly assessed property-by-property."
The Insurance Council of New Zealand said they could not comment on Australian cases, but said New Zealand customers could take a complaint to the Commerce Commission or Financial Markets Authority.
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