What you said about Brisbane flood insurance increase
Brisbane homeowners have been urged to check over flood maps on the back of skyrocketing insurance costs with some residents experiencing spikes of nearly $30k. WHAT YOU SAID
Brisbane City
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Flood insurance prices have skyrocketed for Brisbane homeowners with some residents experiencing increases of almost $30,000 as insurers use new council flood maps to hike up prices.
Insurance for one homeowner on a street in Brisbane’s north went from $3000 to $32,000 with other residents across the city reporting insurance blowouts of up to 10 times what they had been paying off the back of new council flood maps.
It comes as insurers claw back to profitability after a horror year in 2022 due to natural disasters, with Suncorp recently posting a $1.19 billion full-year profit.
The Courier-Mail’s story attracted more than 200 comments, here is what you said.
Inaccurate flood maps
Frank
We live halfway up a hill in Jindalee but our house has been classified as at a low risk of flooding. Most of Brisbane would be under water if we were flooded. Just ridiculous!
Ian
I would suggest that everyone checks the flood maps for their areas. They are not always accurate – for example my son lives in Red Hill and according to the map, the 2022 flood levels exceeded the floor level of their house by 1m. It was in fact more than a metre below the floor level but of course they were hit by huge insurance hikes with both the Council and Insurance Companies pointing the finger at each other. It is a disgrace.
Terri
The data the flood maps are being based upon needs to be more specific and reviewed to exclude blanket mapping ie: areas that have not and will not flood being included in a flood map area due to vicinity or postcode or whatever and not actual real data. We have a house on the outskirts of Dalby. We are now under a major flood prone map area. We did not flood in 2011 and have not flooded since and will not flood because we are on higher ground than anything around us. Our little “suburb” on the outskirts of Dalby is not subject to flooding but because we are classified as Dalby, we are classified as in a major flood area and there is nothing we can do about it despite having documented evidence of no flooding and no likelihood of ever flooding. Local knowledge, actual land contours and any flood mitigations as mentioned elsewhere need to be included in determining these flood classifications.
Christine
It’s not just homes in so-called flood zone areas. I live in the Redlands and am tired of some insurance companies with huge quotes, stating that’s because I live in a flood and/or cyclone area. I deliberately bought my home higher up, not around bush (I lived through the 1983 Victoria bush fires), but still get priced the same. And being a pensioner, that importance of home insurance will soon become impossible to meet. I can reduce the amount of cover, and increase the excess, but soon that too will become ineffective. And in over 55 years, I’ve never made a claim.
Shop around
Neil
My insurance company stated I live in a flood prone area this is why my insurance went up, I live on top of a hill, the suburb has never flooded, been with the same company for over 35 years. So I took my business elsewhere. Shop around.
Helen
The insurance companies are not interpreting the maps correctly for individual addresses. If they see any blue within the property boundary they classify as a high risk flood zone instead of assessing the risk which may be close to zero.
Fred
People need to have a serious look at their own personal financial circumstances. If you can’t afford the flood insurance and you can’t afford to replace or repair everything if it gets flooded you simply can’t afford to keep living where you are. There’s plenty of reasonably priced homes and apartments that are not in the council flood map areas.
Alf
You can also request your insurer check the parameters around the policy charges. I did it years ago and got a substantial refund.
Feel for the North Queenslanders
Kerri
Good, maybe now they will feel some of the pain of North Queensland – seems every time something hits the South East we get slugged with higher insurance. About time they got their own rises, wait till they are paying in excess of $6K for a basic three-bedroom home.
Dino
Good, now you know what it feels like to live in North Queensland.
Peter
North Queensland has dealt with these ridiculous increases in insurance for many years and no one cared. Now that it is effecting SEQ it’s a disaster!
William
I feel sorry for some people But it’s about time the southeast was looked upon by insurance companies the same way those in the north of the state have been treated unfairly for years.
Jackie
How about Nth Qlders who have been battling insurance companies and being ripped off for years? At least in Brisbane you would have more choice of insurers.
Climate Hysteria
Jac
Every single thing we do now is based on the hysteria created by the climate industry. The country is awash with grants and incentives for companies to join the hysteria and jump on the gravy train – and threats if they don’t. Unfortunately we are the ones paying for it. ‘Follow the money”. The whole thing is about “Follow the money”.
The Masked Lapwing
Much of the hysteria fuelling the redrafting of flood zones by Councils is driven by “climate change” zealots who are endeavouring to scare everyone into meeting their Marxist ideological “remedies”. Naturally what follows are increases in premiums associated with artificially inflated risks flowing from these ambiguous and unvalidated claims. The insurance companies are not charities. They are businesses with obligations to their owners and shareholders. The blame for these premium rises needs to rest back on the shoulders of our elected LGA officials who are accountable to their constituents. Consider this at the next LGA elections. We have the capacity to effect change via whom we elect to make these decisions.
Peter
Get used to it, all you climate-change deniers. The big reinsurance companies were warning 20 years ago that climate change will have natural disasters bankrupting the world economy in the life-time of our children. And most of northern Australia is expected to be uninsurable before too long.
It’s on the Government
TerryW
Maybe just maybe Councils should take action to mitigate and lower the risk of flooding, Councils are the authority responsible for ensuring all water ways within their Council boundaries are maintained not the residences. For example turn these creeks into straighter, deeper, wider grass or concrete lined channels would be a good start. There are plenty of engineering options Councils can take to decrease the cost of flooding caused by suburban tranquil creeks turning into raging torrents. If the councils were smart enough they would also use the excavated soils and clay to create and increase the height of the “creek’s” banks. The other option is to have all man-made structures within these flood zones bulldozed and returned to natural bushland, including the multi storey office blocks in the city and lining the length of the river.
Ben
And yet the State Facilitated Development initiative by giggles government is looking to fast track housing projects many of which have been delayed for years due to flood impacts. Do not blame insurers rather local and state governments which allow high density development in flood areas.
Natasha
You can’t blame the insurers. They have to look at the individual risk and price accordingly otherwise all their customers have increased premiums because the less risky are subsidising those who choose to buy in well known flood areas. Agree that it is not fair for the new owners who tried to do the right thing when buying and have been caught out by the Council’s mapping.
Bev
BCC should never approve any building on flood plains. I thought flood plains were to protect other homes from flooding not make the problem worse.
Paul
If the State Labor Govt’s had managed the dam releases properly a lot of these houses would not have flooded. Another reason to get rid of the incompetents in October.
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