The Morrison-Joyce Government’s climate change policy chaos and failure to fix the insurance crisis in Northern Australia has left Australians paying more to protect their home.
New research shows the average yearly cost of insurance premiums across Australia for building and contents cover has shot up by almost 14 per cent in one year.
But residents of cyclone and flood-prone North Queensland are still paying the highest overall average premium cost of $4813.
Canstar’s research confirms the increase in the frequency and severity of extreme weather corresponds with a rise in home and contents insurance premium prices.
The research also found that the soaring insurance premiums reflects an expectation that there would be heightened severe weather events this summer.
But after eight long years in office, the Morrison-Joyce Government is asking for locals to wait until after the next Federal election before they will even attempt to address the insurance crisis in the region.
Despite promises of a $10 billion reinsurance pool for cyclones and related flood damage to help reduce soaring insurance premiums, the Morrison-Joyce Government has only allocated $2.4 million to establish a taskforce to begin consultation on an “intended” reinsurance pool which will not start operation until at least 1 July 2022.
The ongoing climate change chaos within the Coalition means that residents of Northern Queensland will continue paying more to protect their homes.
While doing something about a reinsurance pool is one approach, Labor is also calling for a comprehensive plan that includes mitigation, retrofitting houses and a suite of measures to properly address the problem in a region that is prone to cyclones and natural disasters.
Australians are being forced to pay too much for vital home and contents insurance under Scott Morrison. We can’t afford him any longer.
