Forced Fire Insurance
Friday March 6, 2009
All Australian's living in areas determined to have a high risk of bushfires may be forced to take out compulsory fire insurance, if a recommendation by the Insurance Council of Australia is ratified.
In many bushfire-ravaged areas of Victoria, only half of the householads effected were covered by insurance. It is yet to be decided as to whether those that were uninsured at the time of the bushfires would be compensated for their loss. "Why would you pay insurance premiums for 15 years when you know the bloke next door (without insurance) is going to get his home rebuilt to the same standard or higher?" asked insurance council spokesman Paul Giles.
The Australian Bushfire Appeal fund has raised over $200 million, of which $47 million has already been allocated to the most urgent projects.
Insurance companies have also lobbied for the scrapping of the fire services levy, which heavily subsidises firefighting services in both NSW and Victoria. Insurance heavyweights CGU and AAMI both support the abolishment of the fire services levy, and even argue that the levy is the reason so many households are uninsured in NSW and Victoria.
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