Our national research suggests simply telling people to get more insurance is not necessarily the answer. To understand that, we need ask
why people are underinsured. After disaster strikes, insurance is not always there as needed or as expected. AAP Image/James Gourley
Why are so many underinsured?
A lot of underinsurance is by accident rather than design. After being burnt out by Victoria’s Black Saturday bushfires in 2009, one of our interviewees, Bridget , told us:
You think okay, this is what I paid for the property […] I reckon I could rebuild it for X […] I think we had about A$550,000 on the house, and the contents was maybe $120,000 […] You think sure, yeah I can rebuild my life with that much money. But nowhere near. Not even close. We wound up with a $700,000 mortgage at the end of rebuilding.
The climate is changing and extreme weather disasters are becoming increasingly frequent and severe. It's more important than ever to examine who is bearing the brunt of this change.
As the climate changes and heatwaves become more frequent and severe, it's vital we do more to understand who is most vulnerable and how we can reduce their risk.
One way to do that is develop what is known as a resilience action plan, or RAP.
A RAP is a way for communities (be they school-based, profession-based, or neighbourhood-based) to collectively assess their strengths and weaknesses ahead of coming disasters, identify priorities and build an implementation strategy.
Recent work with Tarnagulla a small town that sits in a bushfire and heatwave-prone part of rural Victoria offers an example. The community got together, applied for funding and co-produced with me (Mittul Vahanvati) a tailor-made RAP for their town.
Their example highlights how small scale, grass roots action trumps waiting around for large scale, top-down climate action to shape our future.