The latest idea of sharing assets is a sharing app to allow the renting out and or sharing of the family pool. Before you rush off and do this, please check with your insurer or insurance broker to ensure that you have the correct liability coverage in place for this commercial operation. Pools are notoriously dangerous places, and if you add alcohol which may become […]
Isn’t your home worth good insurance?
The old saying goes that every person’s home is their castle. Castles were made to be protected, as like the modern home, they house the people and possessions that mean the most to us. A good insurance policy by its very nature is the last line of protection. The reality is that even the best maintained property can be subject to an accidental fire, storm […]
Risks that can cost you your home!
A little while back I published a post titled ‘Beware harsh exclusions that turn the policy into junk insurance‘ that has proved very popular. There is another area that worries me, particularly for home owners, and that is around the “do it yourself’ers” who seem to be on the increase based on any trip to Bunnings on the weekend. It is not surprising for a […]
An insurance provider should know better – Never throw water on to a stove top fire.
Over the years, I have seen a number of ads where an insurer has got it wrong. Most common is when they play out a loss scenario and when I see it, I immediately know their policy has an exclusion for the event. This latest one though takes the cake for, in my opinion, getting it horribly wrong. The ad shows a woman trying to […]
Emergency Services Levy – the added cost to insurance
A few weeks ago when I was watching the disturbing photographs of the bush fires in Queensland and New South Wales they showed footage of the Premier of New South Wales meeting with volunteer fire fighters. I wanted to post something at the time, but did not feel it appropriate when people’s lives and homes were at risk, but the thought crossed my mind. How […]
Sometimes things line up for a good purpose.
Just over a week ago I wrote concerning the danger that large gum trees pose in suburbia. Link to article. Over the weekend, I noticed an arborist in our street and approached him for a price to remove the ‘widow maker’ limb. I explained the old couple could not afford to get it removed and that council refused to help even though it posed a […]
Large gum trees in residential areas pose a threat to life and property
Like most people I am all for protecting the environment and greening our towns and cities but we do need to balance this with the risk to life and property. Today in much of South East Australia strong winds are again forecast. As a child growing up in Brisbane I always thought of August as Kite month. While the weather is great for kites it […]
Beware harsh exclusions that turn the policy into junk insurance
Over the past few years more and more claims have been brought to my attention where the client cannot believe that their claim has been denied. The cases that I refer to are ones where the claim has been denied for faulty workmanship, faulty design or faulty products/materials and there is no write back provision for subsequent damage to the property from a peril not […]
An Enquiry into the construction industry is long overdue
The long list of failures to deliver safe buildings continues to grow following the fires in high rise buildings with non conforming building materials, the walkway collapse between the Alluvian building and West Australia Square in Perth and the severe cracking in several buildings in New South Wales. Add to this the ever increasing list of faulty products being imported into Australia including electrical wiring […]
What will it take to make the Emergency Services Levy fair in NSW?
As many readers would appreciate, I have long been an advocate for the removal of emergency services levies on general insurance. Back in June 2012, I reported that the NSW Government was entering into a public discussion on the fairness or otherwise of having those prudent and risk averse to fund the majority of the fire services levy. A White Paper then came out from […]