If you own a free standing home in Maddington, WA 6109, you've probably wondered whether you're paying a fair price for your building insurance — or quietly overpaying while your insurer quietly profits. This article breaks down a real building-only insurance quote for a four-bedroom, double brick home in Maddington, comparing it against suburb, state, and national benchmarks to help you make a more informed decision.
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Is This Quote Fair?
The quote in question comes in at $3,075 per year (or $295 per month) for building-only cover on a four-bedroom free standing home, with a sum insured of $611,000 and a $1,000 excess.
Our rating for this quote is Expensive — above average for the area.
To put that in perspective: the average building insurance premium across Maddington sits at just $1,209 per year, with a median of $1,254. That means this quote is more than 2.5 times the suburb average — a significant gap that warrants a closer look.
Even when you move beyond the suburb and look at the broader Western Australian market, the picture doesn't improve much. The WA state average premium is $2,811 per year, and this quote still sits above that benchmark. At the LGA level, the City of Gosnells average comes in at $1,427 per year — again, well below this quote.
That said, context matters. A higher sum insured, the inclusion of solar panels, ducted climate control, and the age of the home can all push premiums upward. We'll explore those factors shortly.
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How Maddington Compares
Understanding where your suburb sits in the broader insurance landscape is essential for evaluating any quote. Here's a snapshot:
| Benchmark | Premium |
|---|---|
| This Quote | $3,075/yr |
| Maddington Suburb Average | $1,209/yr |
| Maddington Suburb Median | $1,254/yr |
| Maddington 25th Percentile | $749/yr |
| Maddington 75th Percentile | $1,576/yr |
| City of Gosnells LGA Average | $1,427/yr |
| WA State Average | $2,811/yr |
| WA State Median | $2,127/yr |
| National Average | $5,347/yr |
| National Median | $2,764/yr |
You can explore the full breakdown for your postcode on the Maddington suburb stats page, or broaden your view with the national home insurance statistics.
One nuance worth noting: our suburb sample is based on 32 quotes, which gives us a reasonable picture but isn't exhaustive. Premiums can vary considerably based on the specific insurer, the level of cover, and individual property characteristics. What's clear is that this quote lands well above the 75th percentile for Maddington — meaning fewer than 25% of comparable quotes in the area are priced this high.
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Property Features That Affect Your Premium
Several characteristics of this property are likely influencing the premium — some pushing it higher, others potentially working in the homeowner's favour.
Double Brick Construction
Double brick is generally viewed favourably by insurers. It's a robust, fire-resistant building material common in Perth's older suburbs, and it tends to attract lower premiums compared to lightweight or timber-framed construction. This is a positive factor for the property.
Tiled Roof
Terracotta or concrete tile roofs are considered durable and low-risk by most insurers. Like double brick walls, a tiled roof is typically a premium-reducing feature — good news for this homeowner.
Age of the Home (Built 1992)
At over 30 years old, this home sits in a bracket where insurers may apply age-related loadings. Older properties can carry higher risk of electrical faults, plumbing failures, and structural wear, which may contribute to a higher base premium.
Solar Panels
Solar panels are increasingly common across Perth, but they do add replacement value to a property. If the system needs to be repaired or replaced following a storm or fire, that cost falls under the building sum insured — and insurers factor this in when pricing cover.
Ducted Climate Control
A ducted air conditioning system is a significant fixed asset within the building. Like solar panels, it adds to the overall rebuild cost and can influence both the recommended sum insured and the premium itself.
Sum Insured: $611,000
At $611,000, the building sum insured is the single biggest driver of this premium. A higher sum insured means greater potential liability for the insurer, and that's reflected directly in the price. It's worth periodically reviewing whether your sum insured accurately reflects current rebuild costs — not the market value of your home, but what it would actually cost to demolish and reconstruct it from scratch, including materials, labour, and professional fees.
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Tips for Homeowners in Maddington
If you're looking to get better value from your home insurance, here are four practical steps worth considering:
- Compare quotes across multiple insurers. The gap between the cheapest and most expensive quotes in Maddington spans from around $749 to well above $1,576 per year. Shopping around — even annually at renewal — can lead to meaningful savings without sacrificing cover quality.
- Review your sum insured carefully. Make sure your building sum insured reflects the actual cost to rebuild, not your property's market value. Overinsuring inflates your premium unnecessarily, while underinsuring leaves you exposed. Online rebuild calculators can help you arrive at a more accurate figure.
- Ask about bundling discounts. Some insurers offer reduced premiums when you combine building and contents cover under a single policy. If you're currently holding separate policies, it may be worth getting a combined quote to see if you can save.
- Consider a higher excess. If you have a financial buffer and are unlikely to make small claims, opting for a higher excess (say, $2,000 instead of $1,000) can reduce your annual premium. Just make sure the saving is proportionate to the additional out-of-pocket risk you're accepting.
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Find a Better Deal with CoverClub
Whether you're renewing your policy or shopping around for the first time, CoverClub makes it easy to compare home insurance options tailored to your property and suburb. Don't settle for a quote that's above the 75th percentile when better-priced cover may be available. Get a home insurance quote today and see how much you could save on your Maddington home.