Rising insurance costs taking bigger bite from Tasmanian apple farmer’s bottom line

Rising insurance premiums are getting right on orchardist John Evans’ pip, with the cost of policies at his Geeveston apple farm increasing 100 per cent over the past decade.

Rising insurance premiums are getting right on orchardist John Evans’ pip.

The sixth-generation Geeveston apple farmer said the total cost of insuring his business had increased 100 per cent in the past decade, a period in which lower wholesale prices and ever-changing customer tastes had put further pressure on his operation.

“Cost are impacting us more because we were getting $1.60 a kilo, and now it’s just 60 cents,” Mr Evans told the Mercury.

“So we’ve lost a dollar per kilo on average in just 10 years, but in that time our insurance has probably doubled.”

Tasmanian apple farmer John Evans.

To successfully manage risk across his 40-acre operation, Mr Evans must insure a portfolio of plant and equipment that includes four tractors, three cars, an excavator, and three dwellings.

Once he has also purchased policies for public liability and workers compensation - plus an additional policy to cover fences from bushfire damage – the 64-year-old is staring at a significant insurance bill.

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“Our biggest problem with insurance costs is that there’s not as much money in a bin of apples anymore to pay for it,” Mr Evans said.

Rising insurance premiums are just one of many factors contributing to what has become a cost of living crisis across Tasmania’s rural and regional areas.

Circular Head mayor Gerard Blizzard told the Mercury that although members of his close-knit community knew how to support each other through difficult times, a lack of rainfall and affordable housing were already taking their toll.

Circular Head Mayor Gerard Blizzard. Picture: Supplied.

“Like everywhere else, some people here are doing it tough,” Cr Blizzard said.

“We have an older demographic and some lower socio-economic areas, and as always some people are better placed financially to cope with cost of living increases than others.

“But it is hard for young people trying to get housing, and many of our beef and dairy farmers are doing it tough due to the dry conditions.

“Sadly, some farmers are destocking which is never good.”

Cr Blizzard said that in addition to losing many of its younger residents to the lure of big-city life, a perennial issue for Circular Head was the stubbornly high cost of everyday items such as groceries and petrol.

“There’s no doubt that the more rural and remote locations such as Circular Head, which is effectively the ‘end of the line’ due to the lack of a sealed road loop down the West Coast, do see price increases compared to urban areas,” he said.