Along with the rest of Australia, I feel both empathy and sympathy for those whose homes, properties, crops, livestock, and livelihoods have been severely impacted or destroyed by the current bushfires ravaging Australia. Truly, this bushfire season to date ( including late winter and spring leading into summer) has been little short of an Armageddon.

It is a great thing that the government is supporting those whose losses have been significant. Australia and indeed the world are doing an outstanding job when I comes to fundraising for money that will be spent helping to alleviate some of the misery that has been afflicted upon people.

Nothing can replace those whose lives have been lost. The loss of life is the most significant and impacting of all parts of these weeks and months of fire holocaust.

Through all of what has happened, I cannot but wonder about what has happened to insurance.

Statistically, it has been disclosed that many Australians, probably around about 30%, do not carry insurance on their homes and their positions within their homes. It has also been revealed that a large percentage of those who are insured under insured and have not increased their Insurance levels with the passing of the years.

But it seems that anywhere up to 50% of Australians do not carry any form of property insurance at all. That may be based on particular regions and locations and also upon the characteristics of people within specific regional district boundaries.

Then there’s the issue of livestock and crops. There was a time (And maybe it has passed) when farmers used to insure their crops against coming harvests. Valuable livestock were also insured. It seems to me a great pity that insurance has taken a back seat.

Maybe it’s the premiums! They may be too high.

At one stage of my life I was connected with farming and was aware of the fact that many of those on the land carried insurance against the sorts of losses that have occurred during this fire season. For whatever reason, it’s a great pity that the issue of insurance has now been downplayed.

Insurance cannot be anything other than compensation for what has been lost. But at least, it is something and if appropriate levels are carried it can help people to re-establish.