IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i11p6383-d822977.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Insurance Issues as Secondary Stressors Following Flooding in Rural Australia—A Mixed Methods Study

Author

Listed:
  • John W. McKenzie

    (University Centre for Rural Health, The University of Sydney, 61 Uralba Street, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia
    Office of the Vice Chancellor, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia)

  • Jo M. Longman

    (University Centre for Rural Health, The University of Sydney, 61 Uralba Street, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia)

  • Ross Bailie

    (University Centre for Rural Health, The University of Sydney, 61 Uralba Street, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia)

  • Maddy Braddon

    (University Centre for Rural Health, The University of Sydney, 61 Uralba Street, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia)

  • Geoffrey G. Morgan

    (University Centre for Rural Health, The University of Sydney, 61 Uralba Street, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia
    Sydney School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia)

  • Edward Jegasothy

    (University Centre for Rural Health, The University of Sydney, 61 Uralba Street, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia)

  • James Bennett-Levy

    (University Centre for Rural Health, The University of Sydney, 61 Uralba Street, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia)

Abstract

Flood events can be dramatic and traumatic. People exposed to floods are liable to suffer from a variety of adverse mental health outcomes. The adverse effects of stressors during the recovery process (secondary stressors) can sometimes be just as severe as the initial trauma. Six months after extensive flooding in rural Australia, a survey of 2530 locals was conducted focusing on their flood experiences and mental health status. This mixed methods study analysed (a) quantitative data from 521 respondents (21% of total survey respondents) who had insurance coverage and whose household was inundated, 96 (18%) of whom reported an insurance dispute or denial; and (b) qualitative data on insurance-related topics in the survey’s open comments sections. The mental health outcomes were all significantly associated with the degree of flood inundation. The association was strong for probable PTSD and ongoing distress (Adjusted Odds Ratios (AORs) with 95% confidence intervals 2.67 (1.8–4.0) and 2.30 (1.6–3.3), respectively). The associations were less strong but still significant for anxiety and depression (AORs 1.79 (1.2–2.7) and 1.84 (1.2–2.9)). The secondary stressor of insurance dispute had stronger associations with ongoing distress and depression than the initial flood exposure (AORs 2.43 (1.5–3.9) and 2.34 (1.4–3.9), respectively). Insurance was frequently mentioned in the open comment sections of the survey. Most comments (78% of comments from all survey respondents) were negative, with common adverse trends including dispute/denial, large premium increases after a claim, inconsistencies in companies’ responses and delayed assessments preventing timely remediation.

Suggested Citation

  • John W. McKenzie & Jo M. Longman & Ross Bailie & Maddy Braddon & Geoffrey G. Morgan & Edward Jegasothy & James Bennett-Levy, 2022. "Insurance Issues as Secondary Stressors Following Flooding in Rural Australia—A Mixed Methods Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-13, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:11:p:6383-:d:822977
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/11/6383/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/11/6383/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dianne Lowe & Kristie L. Ebi & Bertil Forsberg, 2013. "Factors Increasing Vulnerability to Health Effects before, during and after Floods," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-53, December.
    2. Margaret I. Rolfe & Sabrina Winona Pit & John W. McKenzie & Jo Longman & Veronica Matthews & Ross Bailie & Geoffrey G. Morgan, 2020. "Social vulnerability in a high-risk flood-affected rural region of NSW, Australia," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 101(3), pages 631-650, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ross Bailie, 2023. "Climate-Related Natural Disasters: Reflections on an Agenda for Rural Health Research," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(8), pages 1-7, April.
    2. Lennart Reifels & Michel L. A. Dückers, 2023. "Disaster Mental Health Risk Reduction: Appraising Disaster Mental Health Research as If Risk Mattered," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(11), pages 1-14, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Pujun Liang & Wei Xu & Yunjia Ma & Xiujuan Zhao & Lianjie Qin, 2017. "Increase of Elderly Population in the Rainstorm Hazard Areas of China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-17, August.
    2. Insa Thiele-Eich & Katrin Burkart & Clemens Simmer, 2015. "Trends in Water Level and Flooding in Dhaka, Bangladesh and Their Impact on Mortality," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-20, January.
    3. Amir Tiyuri & Maryam Rasoulian & Ahmad Hajebi & Morteza Naserbakht & Amir Shabani & Mitra Hakim Shooshtari & Aziz Rezapour & Seyed Abbas Motevalian, 2023. "Psychological impact of the Spring 2019 flood among adult population of Iran," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 69(8), pages 1916-1927, December.
    4. Odersky, Moritz & Löffler, Max, 2023. "The Distributional Impact of Global Warming: Evidence from the 2021 Floods in Germany," VfS Annual Conference 2023 (Regensburg): Growth and the "sociale Frage" 277684, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    5. Jejal Reddy Bathi & Himangshu S. Das, 2016. "Vulnerability of Coastal Communities from Storm Surge and Flood Disasters," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-12, February.
    6. Natalie R. Sampson & Carmel E. Price & Julia Kassem & Jessica Doan & Janine Hussein, 2018. "“We’re Just Sitting Ducks”: Recurrent Household Flooding as An Underreported Environmental Health Threat in Detroit’s Changing Climate," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-19, December.
    7. Jordis S. Tradowsky & Sjoukje Y. Philip & Frank Kreienkamp & Sarah F. Kew & Philip Lorenz & Julie Arrighi & Thomas Bettmann & Steven Caluwaerts & Steven C. Chan & Lesley De Cruz & Hylke de Vries & Nor, 2023. "Attribution of the heavy rainfall events leading to severe flooding in Western Europe during July 2021," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 176(7), pages 1-38, July.
    8. Windra Prayoga & Masateru Nishiyama & Susan Praise & Dung Viet Pham & Hieu Van Duong & Lieu Khac Pham & Loc Thi Thanh Dang & Toru Watanabe, 2021. "Tracking Fecal Bacterial Dispersion from Municipal Wastewater to Peri-Urban Farms during Monsoon Rains in Hue City, Vietnam," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-18, September.
    9. Elsa Landaverde & Mélissa Généreux & Danielle Maltais & Philippe Gachon, 2022. "Respiratory and Otolaryngology Symptoms Following the 2019 Spring Floods in Quebec," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-15, September.
    10. Eric Tate & Md Asif Rahman & Christopher T. Emrich & Christopher C. Sampson, 2021. "Flood exposure and social vulnerability in the United States," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 106(1), pages 435-457, March.
    11. Alejandra Maldonado & Timothy W. Collins & Sara E. Grineski & Jayajit Chakraborty, 2016. "Exposure to Flood Hazards in Miami and Houston: Are Hispanic Immigrants at Greater Risk than Other Social Groups?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-20, August.
    12. Tabassom Sedighi & Liz Varga & Amin Hosseinian-Far & Alireza Daneshkhah, 2021. "Economic Evaluation of Mental Health Effects of Flooding Using Bayesian Networks," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-16, July.
    13. Peter S. Larson & Carina Gronlund & Lyke Thompson & Natalie Sampson & Ramona Washington & Jamie Steis Thorsby & Natalie Lyon & Carol Miller, 2021. "Recurrent Home Flooding in Detroit, MI 2012–2020: Results of a Household Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-16, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:11:p:6383-:d:822977. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.