Fire cover embargoes

By Tania Martin
HILLS residents are being warned to make sure their insurance in is order after embargoes were placed on fire ravaged areas in the wake of the Black Saturday fires.
Embargoes were placed on new customers in several bushfire ravaged regions last month.
Iwona Polski, corporate affairs manager for CGU insurance, said home owners should make sure they insured their homes before risks such as bushfires arose.
Ms Polski said embargoes were common practice in the industry.
She said they were generally put into place when the likelihood of fire was high.
Ms Polski said in situations like that, CGU monitors the weather and other data from police to determine in what areas to apply embargoes.
She said the embargoes had been removed following the downgrading of the fire risk.
AAMI public relations manager Emma Watts said AAMI’s insurance embargoes are based upon CFA recommendations for areas under immediate threat and are constantly changing.
“Insurance is for the unforeseen.
“It’s not designed for people who are in a bushfire area when the fire is coming down the street,” she said.
“That’s the rationale behind it. Every insurance brand will have some type of embargo.
“The way in which they operate it is different for every brand.”
Ms Watts said although every insurance company’s policy offers different methods and levels of coverage, AAMI follows CFA guidelines and puts in place embargoes where there is considered to be an immediate threat.
“There are currently no embargoes imposed by AAMI in Victoria so customers across the state can purchase or upgrade their insurance policies at any time,” she said.
“We would advise all homeowners who have not done so to purchase insurance or reassess their current policy to make sure they have adequate levels of coverage.”