Federal Nationals Member for Page Kevin Hogan has expressed disappointment at the final report and recommendations from the Federal Government inquiry into insurers’ responses to claims from the 2022 major floods.
Mr Hogan said the recommendations will result in more red tape and more government intervention and are 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, 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.”
Mr Hogan said he also asked regulators during the inquiry to look at collecting data on they perform compared with 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 its behaviours quite quickly, because they would be almost certainly publicly shamed.”
“Governments also need to seriously address the imbalance in disaster funding, where 97 per cent is currently allocated to response and recovery, and only three per cent 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 also reduce 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.”
The full report is available at https://www.aph.gov.au/floodinsurance
