Amid the current cost-of-living crisis, home insurance premiums jumped by more than a quarter (28 per cent) over the 12 months to 31 March 2023 — raising fears that some Australian consumers may abandon their policies altogether, according to a recent report by the Actuaries Institute.

In this environment, insurers should consider how they can better communicate the benefits of coverage to consumers, says Computershare’s head of communications consulting, Computershare Communication Services Tonia Hetherington.

Like other financial product providers, insurers currently meet their legal requirements for communication with consumers via their product disclosure statements (PDSs). But these documents are often more than 100 pages long and the percentage of people that read them is very low.

Hetherington says almost half of the respondents in a Computershare survey admitted to skimming over essential communications relating to finance, wealth, insurance or utilities. Likewise, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has found that only one in five people read PDSs.

PDSs can also be difficult for a large section of the population to comprehend.

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