Before Premier Rockliff fronts the cameras today to talk about insurance, he needs to explain why he has been hiding plans to put Tasmanian taxpayers on the hook for insurance losses.
Internal government documents reveal TasInsure intends to establish a “Designated Risks Pool” allowing the Government to underwrite insurance policies where private insurers are unwilling to provide affordable cover.
The documents go even further, stating TasInsure “will underwrite policies where the insurance industry is unable or unwilling to provide policies that are reasonably priced having regard to the risk.”
They also reveal the Government is considering a Tasmanian natural hazard reinsurance pool covering bushfires and floods.
During the election he promised TasInsure would save households $250, sell insurance directly and not cost taxpayers a cent.
That promise has already collapsed.
The Premier has replaced it with a $4.2 million bureaucracy and paid Michael Jordan $150,000 after experts repeatedly warned his original policy was financially reckless.
Now we discover he is contemplating underwriting risks the private insurance market is unwilling to take.
The Premier needs to answer some very simple questions today:
- How much taxpayer money will be put into these risk pools?
- What losses will taxpayers be exposed to?
- How can he possibly claim TasInsure will not cost Tasmanians a cent?
Tasmanians deserve affordable insurance, but after 13 years of Liberal waste, Tasmanians cannot afford another expensive experiment from Premier Rockliff.
