Despite the ongoing impacts of wild weather events across the nation, new research has found nearly two-thirds of Aussie households don’t have plans of action for extreme weather events or other emergencies.
NRMA Insurance’s most recent insurance claims data has revealed more than a third of all home claims made nationally this autumn were for severe weather damage.
Worryingly, only one-third of Aussies have taken steps to prepare for wild weather over the past three months, while 80 per cent don’t know where to convene should such a crisis occur.
This comes two weeks after the Bureau of Meteorology declared a 70 per cent chance of an El Nino developing this year, leading to increased chances of bushfires in southeastern regions.
NRMA Insurance executive manager Natalie Major said the research served as a “call out” for the community to be better prepared.
“This is a call to action,” she said.
“Being prepared means looking after yourself, your loved ones and what’s important to you in the event where the worst does happen.”
Crucially, having plans in place to handle crisis situations is key to resilience and recovery once the emergency has passed.
While Aussies should be ready for any kind of crisis situation, wild weather such as hail, storms, floods and bushfires constitute a large proportion of home-related insurance claims.
NRMA Insurance received more than 10,000 wild weather claims nationally in autumn alone.
Ms Major said there were three steps that could be taken to help better prepare for worst-case scenarios, as the next few months present a “fantastic time” to be prepared ahead of bushfire season.
“The first step is to download the Australian Red Cross Get Prepared app where households can make emergency plans, upload documents and share contact details,” she said.
“The second is to say hi to your neighbours and share your contact details.
“You never know when that will come in handy.”
Ms Major’s advice comes after NRMA Insurance’s research revealed one in three Aussies reported not knowing their neighbours well enough to rely on them for support in an emergency.
“The third step is to have talks with your family or household about what to do in an emergency,” she said.
“It’s pretty significant that four out of five households don’t know where they would meet up if a crisis happened.”
Furthermore, two-thirds of pet owners don’t know where they would keep their pets should an emergency arise.
“With more and more people having fur babies it’s pretty scary we don’t know what we’d do, especially when they’re out in the weather,” Ms Major said.
This most recent data has recorded the lowest levels of Australians preparing for severe weather events since NRMA Insurance began conducting its consumer research.
It serves as a reminder not to become “complacent” when it comes to the unexpected.
“Wild weather occurs pretty steadily and it’s time to get prepared,” Ms Major said.