Tuesday 30th April 10.58a.m. Cold, wet and windy. 22.2 / 29.6kph SW, Hg 59%, 16.2C / 61.2F top of 18C / 64F. Envious of you all hitting the 80sF right now. Showers forecast.
Moon is 65.7%
In California and Florida, getting home insurance is becoming an almost impossible task.
It's either unaffordable or in some cases not being offered at all, with insurance companies pulling out in droves.
The combination of climate-fuelled natural disasters coupled with increasing populations often living in risky areas is threatening the global insurance industry.
This isn't theoretical for Australians. Bushfire and flood disasters during the past few years have seen insurance premiums skyrocket.
It doesn't just affect those in disaster-prone areas; ultimately, everyone ends up footing the bill.
Skyrocketing insurance premiums were also one of the biggest contributors to inflation over the past 12 months, rising 16.4 per cent according to the latest ABS figures.
[Graph - insurance costs and CPI]
"We've seen in other markets around the world like California and Florida that have almost very similar profiles to Australia in terms of peril risks like flood and bushfires, as well as cyclones, a growing population has been left vulnerable and exposed," says Insurance Council of Australia CEO Andrew Hall.
"In fact, in California, some of the major insurers are no longer offering new insurance policies for home and contents.
"We desperately need to avoid a scenario where insurance is not sustainable and insurers are pulling back."
But there's not much time to fix it, according to Mr Hall.
"We actually don't have that long," he says.
"If we talk to people in the international reinsurance markets, they tell us that Australia's window for action is closing fast."
Professor Paula Jarzabkowski, an expert on the insurance protection gap, from the University of Queensland, agrees.
"We are in a really serious place. It's a tipping place, but we're still in a good position," she says.
But if we don't address the insurance problem, Professor Jarzabkowski fears the impacts will be long-lasting and affect not just those in disaster areas, but a growing number of people who are simply priced out.
"The biggest risk is driving inequality in Australia," she says.
"We are creating an underclass of people who are not served by institutions that we think work.
"That is my biggest fear because it has such a powerful societal effect and it's a long-term effect."
Moon is 65.7%
Home insurance costs spike, with parts of Australia at risk of becoming uninsurable
6 hours ago
By climate reporter Jess Davis
In California and Florida, getting home insurance is becoming an almost impossible task.
It's either unaffordable or in some cases not being offered at all, with insurance companies pulling out in droves.
The combination of climate-fuelled natural disasters coupled with increasing populations often living in risky areas is threatening the global insurance industry.
This isn't theoretical for Australians. Bushfire and flood disasters during the past few years have seen insurance premiums skyrocket.
It doesn't just affect those in disaster-prone areas; ultimately, everyone ends up footing the bill.
Skyrocketing insurance premiums were also one of the biggest contributors to inflation over the past 12 months, rising 16.4 per cent according to the latest ABS figures.
[Graph - insurance costs and CPI]
"We've seen in other markets around the world like California and Florida that have almost very similar profiles to Australia in terms of peril risks like flood and bushfires, as well as cyclones, a growing population has been left vulnerable and exposed," says Insurance Council of Australia CEO Andrew Hall.
"In fact, in California, some of the major insurers are no longer offering new insurance policies for home and contents.
"We desperately need to avoid a scenario where insurance is not sustainable and insurers are pulling back."
But there's not much time to fix it, according to Mr Hall.
"We actually don't have that long," he says.
"If we talk to people in the international reinsurance markets, they tell us that Australia's window for action is closing fast."
Professor Paula Jarzabkowski, an expert on the insurance protection gap, from the University of Queensland, agrees.
"We are in a really serious place. It's a tipping place, but we're still in a good position," she says.
But if we don't address the insurance problem, Professor Jarzabkowski fears the impacts will be long-lasting and affect not just those in disaster areas, but a growing number of people who are simply priced out.
"The biggest risk is driving inequality in Australia," she says.
"We are creating an underclass of people who are not served by institutions that we think work.
"That is my biggest fear because it has such a powerful societal effect and it's a long-term effect."
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