Australia's major general insurers are continuing to lift premiums as claims costs and natural disaster losses pressure underwriting margins, even as the corporate regulator warns that customers are not being given enough information about why their costs are rising.
Suncorp, Insurance Australia Group and QBE all reported premium growth in results released this month, with executives citing repair cost inflation and natural disaster losses as the primary drivers. IAG's premium revenue rose 7.6% to $18.4 billion in the year to June 30, 2026, but net profit after tax fell 24.8% to $1.022 billion, weighed down by higher natural peril costs. The board lifted the final dividend 5% to 20 cents a share.
Market analysts have begun questioning how much further insurers can push pricing before customers walk. Barrenjoey's head of insurance and diversified financials research, Andrew Adams, said Suncorp's result showed motor volume growth slowing sharply in the second half as the insurer tried to push through higher premiums, adding that IAG and Suncorp's guidance for continued strong premium growth "looks optimistic, given how competitive the industry remains." JPMorgan analyst Siddharth Parameswaran similarly flagged that pricing momentum has cooled while claims inflation remains elevated.
The pricing environment comes as ASIC sharpens its focus on how motor insurers communicate premium changes to policyholders. In a report released last week, ASIC set out its findings on how motor vehicle insurers disclose premium information to consumers at the time of purchase and renewal, drawing on a consumer survey commissioned in January 2026.
The review covered disclosure practices at five general insurers across eight brands between September 2024 and September 2025. ASIC Commissioner Alan Kirkland said the insurers reviewed generally did not explain the key factors affecting how premiums were calculated or why premiums had changed from the previous year in their quote and renewal documents. Most provided only generic explanations, while some provided none at all.
Car insurance premiums rose 8% in the 12 months to July 2025, more than double the 3% increase in the broader consumer price index over the same period, based on ABS CPI data. Consumer advocacy groups, including the Consumer Action Law Centre, supported ASIC's call for insurers to provide clearer explanations of the factors driving individual premium changes.
ASIC has also taken RACQ Insurance to court over allegations that the insurer sent more than 475,000 renewal notices containing misleading premium comparison information over a five-year period. RACQ is defending the proceedings, which remain before the Federal Court. The RACQ case is not just regulatory symbolism - it shows ASIC is prepared to litigate on disclosure failures, not only publish reports about them.
Suncorp chief executive Steve Johnston said insurers "have to do a far better job of explaining the contributing factors to premium adjustments that occur." IAG chief executive Nick Hawkins said the company wanted to help lead industry efforts on clearer disclosure, including how it explains year-on-year pricing, the factors driving changes, and steps customers could take to reduce their risk and potentially lower costs.
The combination of premium pressure and documented insurer disclosure failures creates a specific advisory opportunity. ASIC's report has confirmed that most insurer renewal documents give customers either a generic explanation or no explanation at all for why their premium has changed. A broker who can explain to a client - in specific, substantive terms - what is driving their individual renewal increase is delivering something the insurer's own renewal notice is not.
That explanation is not complicated. The primary drivers of motor premium increases are repair cost inflation driven by parts availability and labour costs, the growing expense of repairing vehicles with advanced driver assistance systems and electric powertrains, and natural disaster costs that flow through reinsurance arrangements into base premiums. A broker who walks a client through these factors in a renewal conversation - connecting the market conditions to the specific policy - is providing the clarity ASIC says insurers are failing to give. In a market where the regulator has made this a priority and litigation is already underway, that conversation is now a competitive differentiator as much as a client service standard.
