RLC insurance working group
The Retirement Living Council along with operators have been meeting weekly in order to understand the state of the insurance industry, and the implications that this has for retirement living.
There has been almost uniform increase of insurance premiums across Australia for retirement village operators. The RLC has been engaged in data-gathering in order to get a snapshot of what the industry is truly experiencing.
Of the data gathered so far, some operators have reported increases of up to 100% on their insurance premiums over the course of the last three financial years.
Insurance plays a serious part of an organisations budget, and if these increases continue to move so rapidly, this could prove to be financially disastrous even for larger and more financially secure retirement operators.
There are ongoing discussions with insurance brokers that have experience working with the sector, and these conversations have been productive.
Some of the key messaging is focused around:
- There has been a global shift in insurance premiums exacerbated by increasing natural disasters and low global economic confidence;
- COVID-19 and other future potential infectious diseases are now a very real and perceived risk; and,
- The retirement living industry needs to promote its image more proactively, there is a common misconception that retirement living and aged care are the same.
Understanding the impact that these factors have on insurance premiums for the retirement living sector has become an important goal, and it will certainly influence some of the key messaging and conversation topics in meetings to come with the working group and insurance brokers, providers and industry professionals.
If you are willing to supply data for this initiative, you can access the survey here.
If you would like to know more about the group and any further detail, please contact the RLC:
Contact: Patrick Tilley m 0498 007 911 | e [email protected]