Between absence and presence: Questioning the value of insurance for bushfire recovery

McKinnon, Scott; Eriksen, Christine; de Vet, Eliza (2022). Between absence and presence: Questioning the value of insurance for bushfire recovery. In: Booth, Kate; Lucas, Chloe; French, Shaun (eds.) Climate, Society and Elemental Insurance: Capacities and Limitations (pp. 99-110). London: Routledge 10.4324/9781003157571-11

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This chapter examines the meaning of value, and how it is calculated, among bushfire survivors in Australia. In Australia, fire has shaped culture, traditions, and national identity. Yet, the fiery future that is emerging questions people's ability to insure against growing losses. High-fire-danger days and uncontrollable fire behaviour are increasing as a result of climate change and unsustainable land management practices. More people are building and living in amenity-rich but fire-prone landscapes. A grim picture of un- and under-insurance has already been revealed. Still, some bushfire survivors describe a re-evaluated relationship to material possessions post-fire. This raises questions about what is valuable, and to whom? How can we understand ‘adequate’ insurance levels in more than monetary terms? The chapter shows how the difference between the absence and presence of material belongings cannot always be defined by a monetary value replaceable by insurance pay-outs. Rather, it is an emotional presence that continues despite its physical absence. Time, emotional, and physical labour are currencies that often hold as much value to survivors as the financial promise of an insurance policy. Yet, these currencies hold little value in the eyes of insurance assessors. The chapter concludes that in the context of the material and emotional resources that define people's complex everyday lives, the value of insurance is what people make it.

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