Extreme weather to add to household costs
Insurers are being reminded to prepare homeowners for the third consecutive La Nina weather pattern to hit Eastern Australia.
The previous La Nina’s had caused destructive floods along the East Coast in parts of south-east Queensland and New South Wales.
This meant damage by a third La Nina would be exacerbated by the pre-existing flood damage that had not been repaired yet.
The combined insurance damage bill for the La Nina’s of 2021 and 2022 was $5.9 billion with more than 296,000 insurance claims lodged.
Over the last 10 years, the average annual household cost of extreme weather had been $888, but this figure was expected to jump to more than $2,500 a year by 2050, research by McKell Institute found.
Insurance Council of Australia chief executive, Andrew Hall, said: “The last couple of years have shown the impact that heavy rains can have on property, livelihoods, and our own well-being.
“We can’t control the weather, but there are practical steps we can all take to reduce the risk that storm and flood can bring or make recovery from those events easier.”
These included reviewing insurance policies for flood and storm cover, for temporary accommodation cover, preparing an inventory of your home contents, inspecting the property to reduce potential damage and ensuring any policy is in place before the rain begins.
Earlier this year, the Financial Services Council (FSC) urged Australians who had lost their life insurance policies in the flood to utilise its services to help find out which policy they belonged to.
AUTHOR
Laura Dew
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