House and contents underinsurance: Insights from bushfire-prone Australia

As the climate changes and extreme weather events become more common, the role of house and contents insurance in managing risks is garnering more attention. There is concern, as insurance is a key safety net in contemporary life, that significant levels of house and contents under -insurance are placing individuals and communities at undue risk. Yet, the phenomenon of underinsurance is under-researched. Informed by a document analysis of findings from a multi -modal project investigating the experiences and perspectives of insured and uninsured house-holds in bushfire-prone Australia, we identify underinsurance as a complex phenomenon that is variably co-constituted at different scales - households, landscapes, and markets. To better un-derstand what principles can be meaningfully applied for addressing underinsurance, we present four pertinent and novel themes - place (contextualising rates of underinsurance), integration (integrating insurance with other disaster management mechanisms), hegemony (dismantling hegemonic risk discourses including reference to 'shared responsibility'), and solidarity (in in-surance, and through disaster and climate responses). We conclude that addressing inequality and inequity remains paramount given the multifarious reasons why households may be underin-sured. Strategies for addressing disasters and global environmental change should be socially just and inclusive irrespective of whether or not households have insurance.

Automated summary

As climate change and extreme weather events become more frequent, the importance of house and contents insurance in managing risks is gaining attention. However, underinsurance is a complex and under-researched phenomenon. Through analyzing the experiences of insured and uninsured households in bushfire-prone areas of Australia, this study identifies underinsurance as a multifaceted issue influenced by various factors. To address underinsurance effectively, four key themes are proposed: place, integration, hegemony, and solidarity. Strategies for addressing disasters and global environmental change should be equitable and inclusive regardless of households' insurance status.