Vast, bushy backyards, dense tree canopy, close proximity to national parks: these are the characteristics of the Upper North Shore that have attracted successive generations of residents.
But what makes the region attractive is also what makes it more vulnerable to bushfire than most of metropolitan Sydney.
For some residents, prevention of bushfires is part of everyday life. Leanne Denison lives on the bushy outskirts of West Lindfield, backing onto Lane Cove National Park.
When she notices the bush out back becoming overgrown, she gets in touch with the local Rural Fire Service unit to organise a hazard reduction burn. The fact that many of her neighbours are members of the service makes this a bit easier.
She’s no stranger to the smell of smoke and crackle of embers. In the 1994 Lane Cove bushfires, her home burnt down along with many others on the street. Her family was among those who remained and rebuilt.
Smoke over Sydney Harbour during the 1994 bushfires. Image: Daduschu via Wikimedia
In the last year, her fortnightly home insurance payments went up by $80 to $290, a 38 percent increase. That comes out to around $7,540 annually.
She told the Lorikeet it would be irresponsible to live here without home insurance, but despite shopping around and comparing different policies, it was getting more difficult to pay.
“It just makes everything a little bit tighter … you've got to double think everything.”
Living on the rural fringe of Hornsby Shire, Fiddletown resident Mara Barber told the Lorikeet insurance on her property, which is vulnerable to bushfire, rose by $1,000 this year to $4,874.
Hikes in insurance premiums don’t always sweep regions in a broad-brush manner.
Killara’s Colin Pont is a case in point. His property also backs onto Lane Cove National Park and is about 2km north of Leanne Denison’s, yet he hasn’t seen a dramatic rise in his house insurance premiums.
Why is it rising?: Hotter, drier summers fuelled by global warming increase fire risk and therefore premiums. Another driving factor is the cost of building in Australia. A recent report published by the Insurance Council of Australia found building costs have risen about 30 percent in the last five years.
NSW residents pay for emergency services via a levy on their insurance premium. The Insurance Council of Australia claims this bumps up premiums by 18 percent on average.
The data: On the national scale, Australian homes are increasingly underinsured or uninsured. A report produced by the insurance industry’s national regulator estimated that one in seven households are uninsured today, and that by 2050 that figure will increase to one in four.
It found that since 2010, house insurance premiums have grown by an average of 7.2 percent a year, compared to average annual wage growth of 3.1 percent.