The CEO of Tasmanian non-major B&E has issued a warning to state and local governments to protect home buyers from the threat of climate change.
As a customer owned bank, B&E’s focus is on the safety and financial wellbeing of its customers, said CEO Paul Ranson.
“Purchasing a home is one of the biggest financial commitments people make during their lifetime. It’s important to consider a range of factors before signing on the dotted line.”
Prevention is better than cure, he said, warning buyers to beware and think carefully about purchasing a home in a high risk area.
“As with all aspects of purchasing a home … do your research and as part of that research, understand the implications the location of your property may have on your insurance or home loan contract.”
He called upon government at all levels to create a number of mitigation strategies to protect people and property.
“We would encourage state and local government to be proactive in this regard as prevention will be a far lower cost than mitigation.”
This warning also applies to brokers, a bank spokesperson told
Australian Broker.
“Consumers should consider all the risks associated with any agreement they enter into and not rely solely on the advice from one source.”
However, it was too early to say how climate change would affect the home loan contracts of current mortgage holders.
“We envisage we will look at the rising sea level risks in a similar way to flood prone areas, which is to heed the advice of local authorities, lenders mortgage insurers, property valuers, etc.”
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