Home insurance in Tasmania (Tas)

Compare the Market customers in Tas received an average premium quote of $1,656 per year for combined home and contents insurance. The average annual premium quotes were $1,395 for home building insurance and $371 for contents insurance.²

Tas is generally one of Australia’s more affordable states for home insurance, largely due to its lower exposure to natural hazards such as tropical cyclones compared to northern parts of the country.

However, premiums can vary significantly depending on where you live, your home’s rebuilding cost, the level of cover you choose, your excess and local risks such as bushfires and flooding. The table below compares average home insurance premiums in Tasmania with the national average.

Average home and contents insurance premiums: Tas vs national average

Insurers consider a range of factors when calculating home insurance premiums in Tas, including your sum insured, the level of cover and excess you choose, construction costs, and their assessment of your property risk. Here are some of the main factors that can affect your premium.

Flood risk

Parts of the Derwent Valley, Huon Valley, Launceston and areas along the South Esk and Tamar river systems are among those identified in Tas’s flood maps as having higher riverine flood risk. If your property falls within a mapped flood zone, insurers may charge higher premiums.

Bushfire risk

If your property is located within a mapped Bushfire Prone Area, it will be assigned a Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) rating based on its exposure to bushfire hazards. BAL ratings determine the minimum construction standards required and can affect rebuilding costs, which in turn affects your sum insured. Even a lower BAL rating (BAL-19) could add around $5,000 to $20,000 to the cost of building a home, depending on your specific home and circumstances, while higher BAL ratings (BAL-20 to BAL 40) could potentially increase construction costs by around $50,000 or more due to the need for specialised glazing and fire-resistant building features. In some cases, a high risk score may mean that a standard policy is harder to get. Factors such as the distance from the nearest fire station and the quality of local fire and emergency services, may also contribute to the final cost of the policy.

Crime risk

Tas Police data shows the Launceston police division recorded 5,764 property offences in 2025–26, followed by Hobart, at 4,086. Properties in suburbs with higher burglary rates may attract higher home insurance premiums. Installing security measures such as monitored alarms, security cameras and deadlocks may help lower your property’s risk profile and premiums.

Your property type and age

Insurers also assess the characteristics of your home when calculating premiums. These may include:

• age of the property
• roof age, type and condition
• construction materials
• additional features like swimming pools and sheds
• occupancy type, such as owner-occupied or investment
• compliance with modern building standards.

Type of cover and excess you choose

The higher your sum insured, the higher your premium is likely to be. Generally, combined home and contents insurance costs more than home building insurance or contents insurance alone, while higher sums insured and optional extras, such as accidental damage cover, can further increase the cost of your policy. Choosing a higher excess, on the other hand, can usually lower your premium.

Claims history

Insurers may also look at your previous claims history as an indicator of future risk. The number, type and value of past claims can affect how much you pay. Multiple claims over a short period could result in higher premiums at renewal.

There isn’t a single insurer that’s the cheapest for every Tasmanian homeowner. Home insurance premiums can vary significantly based on a range of factors, including your:

• location
• home’s value
• home’s rebuild costs
• home’s construction materials
• sum insured
• chosen excess
• home’s flood and bushfire risk
• claims history
• chosen optional extras.

For example, a homeowner in a flood-prone area of Launceston may receive a very different quote from someone with a similar property in a bushfire-prone area of Hobart due to differences in risk exposure, including flood risk, bushfire risk and potential ember attack. Even two properties located in the same postcode may receive different premiums if one faces a higher risk of flooding or bushfires. This is because insurers increasingly rely on detailed hazard mapping, property data and risk modelling when assessing homes.

Home insurance in Tas can help provide financial protection if your home or belongings are damaged, lost or destroyed by events such as bushfires, floods or theft. Whether you’re a homeowner, renter or property investor, there are different cover options available to suit different needs and property types.

Depending on your policy, cover may include damage to your home building, contents or both resulting from the following insured events:

• storm and rainwater damage
• fire and smoke damage
• theft or attempted theft, vandalism or malicious damage
• escape of liquid causing damage
• lightning damage
• explosion damage
• earthquake or tsunami damage
• breakage of glass causing damage.

Additionally, you may be able to add some or all of the following optional covers to your policy for an extra cost.

Building optional extras

• Flood damage
• Accidental damage
• Motor burnout cover of electrical appliances causing damage
• Contents optional extras
• Loss of or damage to portable contents and personal effects like mobile phones
• Damage occurring while your contents are in commercial storage

Many contents insurance policies offer new-for-old replacement, meaning your insurer may repair or replace an insured item with a similar new item if it’s damaged or stolen.

Always read the relevant PDS and Key Facts Sheet for any insurance policy you’re considering for full details on inclusions, exclusions and annual limits. The Target Market Determination could also guide you on whether a product is right for you.

No, home insurance is not legally required in Tas. However, if you have a mortgage, your lender will usually require you to have home building insurance as a condition of your loan.

When buying property in Tas, the buyer generally assumes responsibility for the property once contracts are exchanged. This means you may want to arrange insurance before settlement to protect yourself if the property is damaged before you take ownership.

Home insurance is important in Tas because the state’s varied climate and geography can expose homeowners to bushfires, flooding and other weather-related risks that may cause costly property damage.

Tas’s location places the state in the path of the Roaring Forties, powerful westerly winds that circle the Southern Hemisphere. As a result, severe storms and heavy rainfall can affect any part of the state throughout the year, increasing the risk of flooding. Differences in climate and vegetation also contribute to bushfire risks across Tas, particularly in the eastern and southern regions.

For example, homes in bushland-fringe areas around Greater Hobart and the Huon Valley may face a higher risk of bushfires, while properties near the Tamar, South Esk and North Esk river systems may be more vulnerable to flooding. Coastal communities can also face risks from severe weather, coastal inundation and erosion.

Most home insurance policies in Tas provide cover for insured events such as bushfires, storms, wind damage, lightning and earthquakes. However, cover for natural hazards such as floods, coastal inundation and land movement may be subject to exclusions, limits or optional cover depending on the insurer and policy.

For example, if you live in a flood-prone area, flood cover may not automatically be included in your policy and could cost extra to add. Similarly, cover for coastal erosion, landslides, land movement and subsidence is often limited or excluded.

It’s also important to understand how insurers define an insured event. While bushfire damage is generally covered, a flame typically needs to directly cause the damage for cover to apply. This means heat-related damage, such as scorching or melting, as well as damage caused by smoke, ash or soot from a nearby fire or bushfire, may not be covered.

Because cover can vary between insurers, it’s important to read the PDS to understand exactly what your policy covers, what is excluded and whether any limits or conditions could affect a claim.

There’s no such thing as the ‘best’ home insurance policy for everyone in Tas, because your policy needs will depend on your individual home and your location’s specific risks. To find a home insurance policy in Tas, start by identifying the risks that may affect your property, then compare a range of policies that cover those risks using a comparison service like Compare the Market.

For example, flood cover may be important if you live in a flood-prone area, while bushfire cover may be a priority if you live near bushland. Homeowners in Greater Hobart and Glenorchy also often consider risks such as theft or vandalism.

Once you’ve identified the risks relevant to your property, consider the policy inclusions, exclusions, limits and optional extras available to help protect against those risks. It’s also worth reviewing the insured events covered under different policies to understand the level of protection available and whether the cover suits your circumstances.