Tips & Ideas for Saving Your Money, Time and Resources – Top Money Saving Ideas for Australians

Choose a higher excess. By retaining more risk yourself through choosing a higher excess, you can save on premium costs. It would mean that for each claim instead of paying the first $200, you will need to pay the first $500, so make sure you are comfortable with the level of risk retained. Another method to save insurance costs through retaining risk is to reduce the total limit of liability, but this could lead to underinsurance.
Take out multi-trip travel insurance. For frequent travellers, it is usually cheaper to take out an annual or fixed period multi-trip travel insurance so that you are covered for as many trips as you can take during that specified time.

Use same insurance company for multiple policies. Most insurance companies will offer discounts for insuring more than one item with them, eg there is usually a discount on insuring your second car, or second residential property. Likewise many insurers will offer discounts for insuring multiple policies in different insurance categories such as, home and contents, car, health, life and travel.
Take a skilled drivers course for young drivers. Most car insurers offer discounts to under 25 youths who have taken a skilled drivers course, offered by that insurer. Completion of this course helps to save money and improves driving skills too.

Find out if you qualify for any group plans. Some employers, colleges, gyms, and professional organizations have corporate plans with insurers and can offer these corporate rates to their members and employees.
Reduce premiums by improving security on your insured item. Improve the security of your home with burglar alarms, security shutters, dead locks, and smoke alarms. For vehicles, install car alarms and immobilisers. Inform your insurer about the enhanced security and ask for a premium reduction.

Stay with insurers that offer loyalty discounts and rewards. Stay with insurers that offer lower premiums for being a long-standing member, or for giving you Rating 1 for life, for car insurance.
Starting young with certain insurance can save you heaps over the course of your life. With term life and health insurance younger people are seen as low risk and hence premiums are lower. The Australian government’s Lifetime Health Cover plan penalises people for taking out hospital cover after 30 years of age, with a 2% loading for commencing each year after 30, up to a maximum of 70% [as at 2009]. Most insurers will offer other discounts to long time members. With automotive insurance, although premiums are usually much higher for under 25s, by starting off young, many insured will qualify for Rating 1 for life schemes much earlier, assuming they had a clean driving record, and therefore will qualify for lower premiums earlier in life.

Pay your premium annually. Some insurers offer a discount to policy holders that pay their annual premium up-front. For such policies, it is worthwhile taking up this deal. If no discount is offered, it is better to pay your premium each month, and to keep money in your pocket longer.
Keep your track record clean. For automotive insurance, steering clear of speeding and other traffic fines will help keep your insurance premium low.
Consider term life insurance and invest the difference yourself. Term life insurance is similar to whole-of-life insurance, however does not come with a savings component. It is much cheaper than whole-of-life insurance, and you can usually get a better savings and investment rate elsewhere. Whole-of-life insurance policies have a death and savings component and comes with low-risk and low-return investment performance and high premiums.

Restrict young drivers. Restricting young drivers from using your vehicle and stating this on your policy, usually helps to lower insurance costs.
Store vehicle in lock-up garage. Motor vehicle insurance is partly driven by where your car is located, suburb as well as storage. Storing your vehicle in a lock-up garage rather than street parking, usually leads to lower insurance bills.
Improve your health. Quitting smoking, avoiding dangerous activities and improving your health will help to lower your personal insurance fees.
Re-evaluate your risks and requirements each year. Take out insurance for what you need, and make sure you are comfortable with the level of risk you are willing to retain. A majority of Australians just take out the standard cover, which may be a waste of money if their personal requirements are quite different. On the other hand, if you underinsure to save upfront on the premium, you leave yourself in a vulnerable state when disaster occurs. Don’t just assume the standard cover or middle-of-the-road policy is suitable for you. Evaluate the details, maximum claimable per item, total limit of liability, your own exposure to risks and pick and choose what is suitable for your circumstance. Make sure this is reviewed each year for inflation, life event changes like having a new baby and getting married, and any new significant purchases during the year, like that new Cartier watch.

Buy personal insurance through your superannuation plan. Most employer superannuation plans offer personal insurance such as Life, Total and Permanent Disability, and Income Protection. There are many benefits to taking out insurance under your super plan. There are tax concessions as premiums are paid for with your pre-tax income, so you don’t pay tax on the amount you paid out for the premium. If you purchased these policies outside of super, you would have to pay tax first and then use the leftovers to pay for the premium. Life and Total and Permanent Disability insurance are also not tax deductible, so getting a concession via paying with pre-tax money is a bonus. Also policies purchased through corporate super plans are cheaper because the super plan are buying these policies in bulk. Another potential benefit is most covers via super plans do not require a medical check up to pre-determine the state of your health. The major pitfalls with policies through super plans are that pay outs are only tax-free to dependant beneficiaries and the ATO has strict guidelines on who constitutes a dependant (usually only spouse and children under 18). Payouts to non-dependents are taxed at 16.5% [as at 2009]. Whereas payouts of policies purchased outside super are usually tax-free for both dependant and non-dependents. Also some covers are quite limited via super plans, unless you take action to take-up higher limits.

Tax deduct your premiums. Some insurance premiums are personal income tax deductible like income protection and professional indemnity insurance.
Utilise affiliate discounts. Most insurance companies offer discounts for services like movie tickets, gym membership, optometry, and travel. Contact your insurer or visit their website to see what discounts you are eligible for.
Choose a non-cancellable life insurance policy. With life insurance, policies can be either automatically renewable or cancellable by the insurer. A guaranteed or automatically renewable policy means the insurer is required to continue insuring you, even if you develop health problems later in life like diabetes or stroke. A cancellable policy means the insurer can decide not to insure you at a later stage, if your health declines. By taking out a non-cancellable policy, you are better insured. However for people that only want to be insured against accidents as they believe they will continue to be in good health, then a cancellable policy may be cheaper.