Australia: Expert calls for national disaster insurance scheme

In a report by the Age, PricewaterhouseCoopers partner, Chris Latham urged that because of increasing urbanisation and the effects of climate change, a national disaster insurance scheme is now needed more than ever. He noted that, with government support the scheme could be introduced within three years.

"One of the main points is … yes, we can muddle through the way we have in the past and most people get looked after, but it's done in a very ad hoc way, relying on the government to step in. People might have their houses burnt down and they're not insured and they can't be sure that the government is going to step in and help. Then [they don't know] what the level of donation is going to be. People need certainty around this sort of thing rather than just hoping someone will step in and look after them once they've lost their house" he stressed.