Residents Scrimp On Property Insurance
Central Coast Herald
Monday April 7, 2003
ALMOST one in five Newcastle and Central Coast residents have no home or contents insurance, a survey has found.
One in 10 people who live in bushfire-prone areas have admitted they have no such insurance, according to research done by insurer AAMI.
Almost one in three Newcastle residents with home or contents insurance is deliberately underinsured.
The findings have been published in the 2003 AAMI Firescreen Index, which is based on an analysis of AAMI's claims data and a survey of about 1200 people done by Sweeney Research.
AAMI's Paul Edwards said one of the more common reasons for people being underinsured was that home insurance was too expensive.
But he said that perception was in part a result of the ``high level of State Government fees and charges" imposed on policyholders.
``Government fees and charges add $38 for every $100 in home insurance premiums in NSW," Mr Edwards said.
That includes a fire services levy, which is charged in NSW and Victoria.
Mr Edwards said the research found 86 per cent of people believed the levy should be paid by all property owners, not just those who took out insurance.
Sixty per cent of Newcastle residents thought the ACT's scheme for compensating the victims of the recent Canberra bushfires was unfair.
Under the scheme, uninsured home owners who lost their homes were paid $10,000 by the ACT Government.
People who had home insurance received $5000.
The survey has found that Saturday evening is the most risky time of the week for a fire (according to AAMI's claims data) and that cooking is the single biggest cause of fires in the home, with 55 per cent of fires starting in the kitchen.
© 2003 Central Coast Herald
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