Underwriting agency Sure Insurance says disclosure and claims handling will be a focus as it starts writing home and contents policies in the cyclone-prone region from Bundaberg to Cape York.

The company, backed by Liberty Mutual, is providing cover through direct sales and will consider distributing through mortgage brokers as part of its next phase.

The Brisbane-based agency, led by former RACQ Insurance CEO Bradley Heath, began accepting quote requests on its website this month and formally launched in Townsville last Wednesday.

Soaring premiums in the north have been the focus of numerous government reviews, including an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission inquiry that delivered an interim report in December.

“I think we found a lot of our strategy was very compatible with what the ACCC had to say,” Mr Heath said.

Sure intends to provide quotes throughout northern Queensland, with the exception of the coastal islands.

“Like every insurer… there will be higher prices for higher risks, but importantly we are asking people a lot of detail about what they have done to their house and their individual circumstances,” he said. “We will tailor that premium accordingly; it is not one size fits all. We want to spend time understanding individual risks and that will be reflected in the price that people get.”

Sure says it will save customers on average more than $1000 a year, or 32% on home insurance premiums.

Mr Heath says several insurance capacity providers were considered before it decided to team with Liberty.

“We spoke to a number of potential backers and there were varying levels of interest and varying levels of appetite,” he said.

“We found [Liberty’s] approach and their ethos to be very compatible with our own.”

Luke Saxby, a former senior manager at RACQ Insurance, is also an executive at the new company, and former RAA Insurance executive Michael Boucher has joined as GM.

Mr Heath says Sure Insurance will also draw on external specialists and services.