Editorial: Cover vital for all

The thing about insurance is it's there, just in case.
It is money that when spent, doesn't seem to have any tangible benefit other than giving peace of mind that, should the unthinkable happen and your home and/or possessions be lost or damaged, you won't have to cover the full cost of the replacement yourself.
The way insurance works is simple: a bulk of people pay relatively small amounts over a period of time, on the basis they will likely not make a claim.
Now it seems we are all set to pay significantly more for our protection, a result of the devastating earthquakes in Christchurch and other natural disasters.
While unpleasant and hard to swallow, it isn't exactly unexpected as the sheer scale of those tragic events made it almost a foregone conclusion that someone would have to pay. That someone is you and me, the people who take out the various policies on offer.
And according to Wanganui advisers, we can expect to pay a considerable amount more for our cover, up to 50 per cent more for houses.
All too often we see stories of people whose homes and possessions are damaged by fire, or they are left with nothing because thieves have targeted them.
Yet because they have no insurance, there is almost an unspoken acceptance that the public will rally in support and help out. In Wanganui in particular, this has been the case, and while it speaks volumes for the generosity and compassion of the people who donate, it also suggests that many people either can not afford or don't value highly enough the protection basic insurance provides.
And with premiums about to rise significantly, that is likely to intensify the pressure on budgets and the decision many will face about buying cover for something that might not happen, against feeding the children.
And we should spare a thought, too, for our local businesses, who are still smarting from two years of tough trading conditions and now face a significant cost increase. In some cases, it will pile pressure on balance sheets that are teetering on the brink.
But, at a time when it seems there are many reasons to not bother getting insurance, we have to only look back at the cause of these premium hikes and ask, would we leave ourselves exposed like that? Then the question we must ask, and it's more relevant than ever, is can we afford not to have insurance?
And, with more people likely to opt out, maybe it's time to look at some sort of compulsory levy for basic cover, perhaps sponsored by and backed by the Government.
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