By Callum Marshall for the ABC
Stuart and Vikki Guy lost their home to a house fire on Christmas Day. Photo: ABC Shepparton: Callum Marshall
Stuart and Vikki Guy were celebrating Christmas Day in their daughter's house when they learned their home had caught fire.
By the time they drove 30 minutes from the Goulburn Valley town of Mooroopna to Wunghnu, it was too late.
Their home was engulfed in flames.
"Everything in the house is completely gutted," Guy said.
Guy lost his grandfather's World War I medals and pocket watch, while family photos, school reports, and their granddaughter Annabella's toys also burned.
Making matters worse, while the couple had home insurance, they had made the difficult decision to forgo contents insurance six months earlier, after the premium skyrocketed by 233 percent, following a period of intense fires and floods in the region.
The bill for their home and contents insurance went from A$1800 (NZ$1990) to $6000, so the couple elected to drop the contents part of their insurance cover.
Financial comparison site Canstar says average home and contents insurance in Victoria is $1940.
"We do not have that money," Guy said.
"It all came down to what we can afford."
'Well and truly underinsured'
Few people understand the problem of underinsurance like Andy Nagorcka.
His home came under attack during the Boxing Day bushfires in Gazette, in the state's south-west.
Andy Nagorcka says he did not realise his home was underinsured until it was too late. Photo: ABC Wimmera: Julia Bergin
His property was adequately insured this time around, having previously suffered significant losses after underinsuring his residence during the St Patrick's Day fires in 2018.
"We were well and truly underinsured," he said.
"We had $100,000 insurance cover on fencing and the cost of fencing would have been two or three or four times as much.
"A lot of it [fencing] has not been put back up for that reason."
Nagorcka said he had tried to be strategic with insurance, searching for the best value where possible as a result of his previous experience.
But he acknowledged it was a cost not everyone could afford.
"Certainly once you look at contents and you start adding things up, you realise how significant the contents of a house can be," he said.
Big jumps the new normal
Bronwyn Lay is the strategic lead at the Federation of Community Legal Centres in Victoria, the peak body representing the state's 50 community legal centres.
Dr Lay said stories of rising insurance premiums were becoming more common, particularly in areas with a high risk of hazards.
"I have heard of big jumps from $8000 up to $60,000 - that's the biggest one I have heard, however, that was in a very high-risk area in Queensland," she said.
"We have heard that kind of jump is becoming quite normal, particularly in light of post-Black Summer, and post-floods."
Dr Lay said it was important to discuss how climate change was impacting insurance risks and, therefore, premiums.
"If a whole area is uninsurable, that community, their social cohesion and social capital, will be at risk," she said.
The Insurance Council of Australia said wherever someone lived in Australia, whether they were exposed to extreme weather or not, there was upward pressure being put on insurance premiums.
"This is because of the escalating costs of natural disasters, the increasing value of homes making them more expensive to repair or replace, inflation pushing up building repair costs, and the increasing cost of doing business for insurers," the council said.
"Australian insurers lost more than $650 million on home insurance policies over the four years to 2023. "
The couple have a long road ahead of them in rebuilding their home. Photo: ABC Shepparton: Callum Marshall
The long rebuild
Back in the Goulburn Valley, Stuart and Vikki Guy are piecing their home life back together.
They're staying with their daughter until their home can be rebuilt, and are determined to ensure others do not fall into the same trap they did.
"I think there are a lot of other people in the same predicament," Guy said.
"Other bills have gone through the roof.
"That is just the way times are now."
While the Guy family waits for their building insurance to be processed and paid out, more than $10,000 has been raised for the family from an online community fundraiser.
They said the community support had been amazing and would help them replace some household items.
But, for now, they said they were playing a long waiting game before they were back in their own home.
"We planned to be away for a few days [during the Christmas break] but now it looks it could be, well, who knows?" Guy said.
-ABC
