The Federal Government has released their final report and recommendations for the inquiry into insurers’ responses to 2022 major floods claims.
Federal Member for Page Kevin Hogan has expressed disappointment, saying the recommendations result in more red tape, more government intervention and is ignorant on mitigation and flood insurance affordability.
“I have already co-signed a dissenting report outlining concerns on affordability, mitigation and regulation,” Mr Hogan said.
“We have put forward additional recommendations to be considered, including an option for policyholders to opt-out of flood coverage, while maintaining general insurance.”
“This is essential for our community. If you live on the floodplain and want to opt-out due to the cost, this will ensure you are still covered for fire and theft protection.”
“I also asked regulators during the inquiry to start to look at collecting data on they perform compared to their competitors – for example, how long companies take to assess claims and resolve disputes.”
“If this data is then made public, I think the industry would change their behaviours quite quickly, because they would be almost publicly shamed.”
“Governments also need to seriously address the imbalance in disaster funding, where 97% is currently allocated to response and recovery, and only 3% to mitigation.”
“Greater action is needed to reduce the risks of future flood events, including through programs such as the Northern Rivers Resilience Initiative, which will reduce the impacts of future floods, the cost of insurance and the cost of future disaster recovery.”
“There are also many promising recommendations in the report, notably around simplifying flood data, and communicating flood risk to communities. I welcome this and supported it through the committee phase.”
“Thank you to the members of our community who put in considerable time and effort to develop and provide submissions, attended hearings and provided witness evidence.”
The full report is available at https://www.aph.gov.au/floodinsurance
