Asip Memishi fears his business is unsellable. (ABC News: Patrick Rocca)
In short:
Businesses in bushfire-prone Halls Gap say it is almost impossible to get insurance.
Experts say the issue will only get worse as climate change leads to more severe and frequent extreme weather.
What's next?
Business owners are calling on the government to step in to ensure those living and working in disaster-prone areas can get insurance.
When Asip Memishi bought the Halls Gap Hotel in late 2023, he never imagined it would be declared impossible to insure against fire.
The single-storey pub sits proudly at the foot of the Grampians/Gariwerd National Park, surrounded by lush native forests in Victoria's south-west.
When an out-of-control bushfire ravaged the region last month, Mr Memishi was out armed with hoses, waiting desperately for the CFA to arrive.
He took on the heat, because he knew if his pub burned to the ground, there was little he could do to rebuild it.
The Grampians bushfire, pictured on Christmas Day. (Supplied: Bec Star)
"My kids were ringing me every five minutes saying, 'Come home dad' … it was a bit hard to leave the place," Mr Memishi said.
"I just don't know what's going to happen [if it burns]."
Mr Memishi was told it was not possible to insure his pub against fire to the standard he required.
Asip Memishi bought the Halls Gap Hotel in 2023. (ABC News: Patrick Rocca)
He said that alone made the prospect of on-selling the property an insurmountable challenge, meaning the hotel could become a generational pursuit for his family.
Insurance experts say it is an all-too-common occurrence across the real estate market in the region.
And the region's federal political representatives are worried towns such as Halls Gap could cease to exist if nothing changes.
Premiums threaten tourism
A long-time business owner, Mr Memishi has hospitality in his blood.
Mr Memishi is back pouring beers after the hotel was closed during the fires. (ABC News: Patrick Rocca)
When he bought the Halls Gap Hotel, he thought he would spend a few years building up the business then sell it for a profit.
But being located in a bushfire-prone area, with no options for bushfire insurance, Mr Memishi said he was rethinking the future.
"Going to sell the place, it could be a massive problem," Mr Memishi said.
"Will this have to stay in the family for another 200 years? I don't know."
Mr Memishi pays about $55,000 in insurance premiums that do not cover bushfire, in a region that has been hit hard by fires two summers in a row.
The fire burned for 21 days before it was contained. (Supplied: Ross Walker/Scoresby Fire Brigade)
Federal Mallee MP, Anne Webster, said unless insurance companies started meeting the needs of the community, towns that relied on tourism businesses — like Halls Gap — could cease to exist.
"We're only a little country pub so it's massive money," Mr Memishi said.
He is not the only business owner in the region facing rising costs.
Halls Gap accommodation owner Alan Wang told the ABC he did not see any premiums for less than $20,000 when he bought the business in August 2023.
And Adrian Manikas, who runs two tourism businesses in the Grampians region, told ABC Radio Melbourne he had to purchase a policy from an international company to insure a business he bought last year.
Adrian Manikas owns two tourism businesses in the Grampians region. (Supplied: Adrian Manikas)
"There was not a single insurer in Australia that would offer even a conversation to provide a quote," Mr Manikas said.
"They simply came back with 'declined to quote' across the board."
Mr Manikas said the policy he was able to secure with a business continuation add-on excluded bushfire in "a couple of key areas".
Insuring bushfire zones
In the summer of 2023–24, bushfires in the Grampians destroyed 46 homes in the town of Pomonal, a 12-minute drive from Halls Gap.
This summer's blaze burned through an area bigger than Singapore, destroying four homes and killing thousands of animals.
Grampians Insurance Brokers director, David Hosking, said securing insurance for businesses in the region had become more challenging over the past decade.
David Hosking says it is tough to get bushfire insurance in Halls Gap. (Supplied: David Hosking)
"As each year's gone by it's become more and more difficult," Mr Hosking said.
He said insurers were not assessing properties individually, instead refusing to insure for bushfire in entire regions.
Mr Hosking said he recently tried to find insurance for a new building in an area clear of vegetation, constructed with concrete and steel, with fire hydrants outside the building and fire reel hoses inside.
"The chances of it burning down are virtually zero," Mr Hosking said.
"We got no one that would be prepared to insure it. Not one."
Mr Hosking said he wanted multiple insurers to step up and provide coverage in the region.
"They need to all go in there and all [under]write a certain number of business so that one of them isn't copping all the losses," Mr Hosking said.
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Photo shows Fire burns a structure in the Pacific Palisades.
It comes as the number of homes considered uninsurable across Australia continues to climb.
Climate Valuation chief executive Karl Mallon said there were no protections for people who purchased property only to discover they could not secure insurance.
"Check before you buy. Check that it's insurable … that it's not in a flood zone, whether it's been built to deal with fire or cyclones," Dr Mallon said.
More to do
Speaking in Halls Gap this week, federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said the lack of insurance companies willing to work in the region needed to be addressed.
"There are businesses now who can't get insurance … and they can't run their businesses if they don't have insurance," Mr Dutton said.
Halls Gap relies on tourism to prop up the town's economy. (ABC News: Patrick Rocca)
"Banks won't lend money to a business that can't insure the asset that underpins the loan that's been made.
"And in that circumstance, those people lose their business. If they can't get financed, they sack the staff, they move on. And that has a spiralling effect in a community like this."
In a statement, federal Financial Services Minister Stephen Jones said the government was determined to make insurance more affordable.
"We are investing in risk reduction through the Disaster Ready Fund and set up an insurance affordability taskforce to coordinate a whole-of-government approach to reduce insurance costs and make communities more disaster resilient," Mr Jones said.
