Allianz was entitled to slash its price cap setting and significantly increase a home cover customer’s premium after he made a claim, the industry ombudsman has ruled.

And the insurer had no obligation to disclose how it calculated the new premium, as demanded by the policyholder, because it was commercially sensitive, AFCA says.

The policyholder benefited from capped prices in 2023 and 2024 but complained that, following a claim, not only was his no-claims discount reduced but the basis of his premium changed.

He said this led to an increase of more than 100% on the prior year. And he argued that because previous years’ prices featured capping, they were misleading, giving the impression premiums would remain relatively low.

He said his claim had triggered the large price increase, and he was “unfairly penalised”.

In its dispute ruling, AFCA notes a statement from Allianz’s senior underwriter explaining a major rating review was implemented in January 2024, including updated rating factors and third-party data sources. These changes increased premiums, particularly due to weather risks.

Related article: AFCA settles row after driver tries to claim against cancelled cover

In 2024, premium capping was applied that created a 70.04% variance between the technical rate and the premium charged. But changes to the capping and threshold rules in 2025 resulted in a smaller variance, at 50.62%.

An AFCA member said: “While the complainant believes the insurer’s failure to disclose premium capping in prior years was misleading, I do not accept this to be the case.

“An insurer is not obliged to provide customers with detailed calculations regarding exactly how a premium is arrived at, and I accept that information about premium capping is commercially sensitive.”

The regulator also rejects the argument that the claim prompted the large premium rise.

“If the complainant accepts the 2025 premium is comparable to other insurers’ offers, it is not clear to me on what basis the complainant considers the premium increase was incorrectly applied.”

Read full ruling here.

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