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THE ALPINE
BRIGHT - POREPUNKAH - MT BEAUTY - TAWONGA - TAWONGA SOUTH Wednesday, May 11, 2022
Phone: (03) 5752 1058
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SPORT
Alpine frustration Bushfi fire insurance challenges g ffor alpine p resort p properties p remain unresolved d BY JEFF ZEUSCHNER jzeuschner@ nemedia.com.au
WEEKEND snowfalls may have heightened expectations for a great snow season ahead next month, but it has done little to allay insurance concerns that some fear threaten the future viability of many clubs, apartments and businesses at our alpine resorts of Mt Hotham and Falls Creek. More than six months ago Victorian Snowsports Association president Dave Clark raised industry concerns over many major insurers having decided not to offer cover to alpine properties, following the 2019/20 bushfire season. Since then the situation has only got worse, according to Mt Hotham Chamber of Commerce president Steve Belli, who is also deputy chair of the Alpine Resorts Industry Advisory Group and of the Alpine Community Recovery Committee - Bushfire. “Buildings valued at over $20 million at alpine resorts are unable to be insured at all and some underwriters are now not insuring buildings with any wooden cladding or wooden flooring, which accounts for a majority of buildings in the alps,” Mr Belli told the Alpine Observer this week. “For those who have been able to get insurance, the premiums from 2019 to 2022 have risen enormously, some
WINTER WONDERLAND: Mt Hotham (pictured) and Falls Creek were blanketed in snow late last week, and into the weekend, in what many hope is a good omen for the winter season ahead. Vail Resorts Australia wasted no time taking full advantage of the early cold snap, firing up their snow guns at both resorts to start building a base for the season ahead, which will officially open on Saturday, June 11. PHOTO: Vail Resorts Australia up by 700 per cent. “This is simply unviable, particularly after the financial challenges of the past two years, with only a four day season in 2020 and another lockdown plagued 2021.” Mr Belli said it is mandatory for properties to have insurance or they breach crown alpine leaseholder requirements. “The government is entitled not to renew their lease, but that is not happening at present,” he said. “We first raised this insurance issue two years ago and despite ongoing discussions with government agencies we don’t have any resolution...it’s a major concern and is certainly stifling devel-
opment and investment. “Resort management boards have been doing what they can to assist, recognising there is a problem, but ultimately the decision does not lie with them. “There have been time lines for a response from DELWP that keep blowing out and we are aware of them doing something, but what and when is turning into a bigger mystery...it’s simply not good communication at all. “We’ve been telling the government there is a market failure of insurance in the alpine resorts - based on some properties unable to get any bushfire insurance, and those that can having to pay exorbitant premiums.
“We’re seeking the government, through the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority (VMIA), to declare a market failure and help underwrite more reasonable and affordable premiums. “We’re not after a free ride, we just want access to reasonable priced premiums.” North East state and federal MPs, Tim McCurdy (MLA, Ovens Valley), Bill Tilley (MLA, Benambra), Cindy McLeish (MLA, Eildon) and Helen Haines (MHR, Indi) have raised the issue over the past year with the State Government. Mr McCurdy recently wrote to Assistant Treasurer Danny Pearson to highlight the contention of a “cata-
clysmic market failure” and the need for government to negotiate a “reasonable and affordable outcome for businesses and resort boards in the alpine region”. He urged Minister Pearson to assist the VMIA, Insurance Council, resort boards and local businesses of the alpine region in finding an affordable resolution which helps achieve their “legal obligations and insurance compliance”. “We need to act now, before the situation spirals out of control, and a potentially devastating event occurs that will put many of these businesses, and by association, their owners, and employee’s livelihoods, in jeopardy.” The Alpine Observer contact-
ed Minister Pearson’s office and a government spokesperson said the “government’s insurance adviser, the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority, is working with the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning to better understand the insurance needs in alpine resort areas”. We were informed government agencies are working with crown land leaseholders on their insurance difficulties and that agencies were also working to reduce the risk of bushfires in alpine resort areas through actions including planned burns, asset management, snow machine investments and asset sprinkler systems.
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