The chief executive of insurance giant QBE, Andrew Horton, says Peter Dutton’s threat to break up insurance companies due to excessive prices does not reflect the reality in the market that premiums have gone up because of the frequency of disasters and the cost of repairs.

The opposition leader was touching on policyholders’ frustrations with higher insurance premiums, which are up 16 per cent over the past year. But Horton said this did not reflect any lack of competition or price gouging.