Other Insurance

With average private health insurance premiums rising from April 1, households under cost pressure may be able to reduce costs without cancelling cover. Here are practical ways to review your policy, prepare for a call with your insurer, and compare alternatives while avoiding common financial pitfalls.

Pet insurance can reduce the financial shock of accidents and illnesses, but policies vary widely in pricing, exclusions, and how claims are handled. Here’s a practical framework for comparing plans—plus six insurers that stand out for specific reasons, from broad base coverage to direct vet payments and options for certain preexisting conditions.

Public anger at insurers has intensified amid high-profile events and a steady stream of claim disputes. An insurance law scholar argues that frustration extends well beyond health coverage and outlines three reforms—clearer information, minimum standards, and stronger remedies—that could help restore confidence in insurance markets.

A major insurer’s decision to exclude sport-related concussion and head trauma from a key disability benefit for elite footballers highlights a wider challenge: how to fund long-term brain injury risk when insurers view it as uncertain and litigation risk is rising.

Flood damage is excluded from standard homeowners insurance, leaving many households reliant on a federal program that has struggled with outdated coverage limits, mispriced risk and persistent debt. Here are the key questions behind calls to overhaul U.S. flood insurance pricing and participation.

Climate shocks are making African farming increasingly precarious, yet many smallholders remain uninsured. New approaches—such as smartphone photo claims, flexible insurance coupons, and products designed around women farmers’ risks—aim to lower costs, improve accuracy, and boost trust in agricultural insurance.

As extreme weather events become more frequent and severe, insurance premiums are rising and more households are left underinsured or uninsured. A federal reinsurance pool aimed at northern Australia may not deliver meaningful relief, while targeted support and mitigation measures remain central to reducing long-term costs.

The destruction from a series of Los Angeles County wildfires has highlighted how quickly insured losses can fall behind real-world damage. As insurers retreat from high-risk areas and reliance on last-resort coverage grows, the global reinsurance system that supports catastrophe payouts may transmit higher costs into other markets — including Australia, where many households already face severe insurance stress.

Disasters can leave households facing enormous costs, and insurance does not always respond as people expect. With significant levels of non-insurance and underinsurance—especially among renters and lower-income households—recovery can become slower, more stressful and more expensive. Understanding why people are underinsured is essential to designing fairer insurance and stronger public policy.

As wildfires, floods and other catastrophes strain private markets and public backstops, the debate is not only about premiums and payouts. It is also about goals, who is included in the risk pool, and how risks are classified—choices that reflect values as much as math.