SuburbCost, November 2026
Queensland home insurance estimates, tested against real premiums
https://www.suburbcost.com.au/blog/queensland-home-insurance-north-vs-south-2026

THE METHOD

SuburbCost estimates building insurance for the same standard house,
insured for $600,000, in every suburb. The rate is the ACCC's 2026
average premium per $100,000 insured for the area's cyclone risk: $606
where the risk is medium to high (Cairns, Townsville and Mackay regions)
and $359 where it is low (the rest of Queensland). Each suburb is then
moved up or down for flood and fire within its area, and kept below the
ACCC's average combined premium for that area.

THE ESTIMATES

  Low cyclone risk        1265 suburbs   median $2,150 a year
  Medium to high risk      350 suburbs   median $3,600 a year

THE TEST

The ACCC reports the average premium households paid for combined home
and contents cover in each ABS SA3 area in 2025. A building-only
estimate for a standard house should sit at or below it. Across 73
Queensland areas, our median estimate is below the ACCC band in 60 and
within it in 13. None is above.

THE CORRECTION

Until 6 November 2026 our insurance figures were AI estimates. They sat
above the ACCC's average combined premium in 15 Queensland areas. The
largest gaps:

  Tablelands (East) - Kuranda     $5,300 then,  $2,450 now  (ACCC $1,250 to under $2,500)
  Far North                       $5,600 then,  $2,150 now  (ACCC $2,500 to under $3,750)
  Port Douglas - Daintree         $5,525 then,  $3,650 now  (ACCC $2,500 to under $3,750)
  Cairns - North                  $5,300 then,  $3,650 now  (ACCC $2,500 to under $3,750)

WHAT THE ESTIMATE IS NOT

Not a quote. A real premium depends on the home, its exact address and
flood exposure, the cover and excess chosen, claims history and the
insurer. Real premiums also rise with home values, which a same-house
estimate leaves out on purpose, so dear inner suburbs pay more than the
estimate suggests.

Since the cyclone reinsurance pool began in 2022, the ACCC reports
average home and contents premiums, adjusted for sums insured, down 14%
in Mackay and 12% in Cairns.

FILES

  data.csv    every Queensland SA3 area: our median estimate, the ACCC band, the earlier estimate
  chart.svg   the regional chart

SOURCES

  ACCC, Insurance monitoring report 2026: Table ES.1 and supplementary data Table 1
  Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation, Cyclone Pool Premium Assessment, May 2025
  ABS Australian Statistical Geography Standard 2021, SA3 and SA4

REUSE

Free to use with attribution to SuburbCost and a link to the article above.
Cite the ACCC directly for its own figures. No insurer is named and nothing
here is advice about cover.