Underwriting agency Sure Insurance has started writing home and contents policies from Bundaberg to Cape York, targeting a region hit by surging premiums.

MD Bradley Heath – a former CEO of RACQ Insurance – said today his firm aims to save customers more than $1000 a year on average, or 32% on their home insurance premiums.

He says his company, which is backed by Liberty Mutual, will take “a tailored approach” to the risks it covers.

Mr Heath told insuranceNEWS.com.au Sure will provide pricing 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 a one-size fits all. We want to spend time understanding individual risks and that will be reflected in the price that people get.”

Mr Heath says several potential insurance capacity providers were considered before the firm 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 Adelaide-based RAA Insurance executive Michael Boucher has joined as GM.

Mr Heath says Sure Insurance will also draw on external specialists and services to deliver its outcomes.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission says premiums in northern Australia rose 130% in real terms in the decade to 2018, compared to an average 50% rise in the rest of the country.