Why Gympie, Fraser Coast homes could be uninsurable by 2030

A new report has revealed a shocking number of houses and units in Gympie, the Fraser Coast and Bundaberg will cost too much to insure within the next eight years. Here is why.

At least 10 per cent of Wide Bay properties will be effectively uninsurable by the end of the decade thanks to continually growing extreme weather and climate threats.

A new report from the not-for-profit Climate Council lists the Wide Bay as the 11th most at-risk federal electorate of having properties become uninsurable due to increasing premiums.

It claims 10,575 properties, 10 per cent of the Wide Bay, will be at “high risk” from the climate hazards of fire, flood and wind and uninsurable by 2030.

Another 32,626 will fall into the “medium risk” category.

In the Gympie council area, 2371 of the region’s 34,592 properties were expected to be uninsurable within a decade, 6 per cent of the region.

Heading north 4 per cent of the Fraser Coast’s properties would be in the same boat (3487 high risk properties out of 71,809).

The Bundaberg region had the least number of properties at risk, with 4 per cent (2852 of the region’s 63,078 properties) likely to be uninsurable by the end of the decade.

Bushfires were the biggest risk in the Gympie and Fraser Coast regions, while riverine flooding was a bigger risk in Bundaberg.

The report was based on figures from Climate Valuation, which analysed the chance of property damage to buildings from extreme weather events.

About 10 per cent of Gympie region properties will be effectively uninsurable thanks to growing extreme weather and climate threats, a new report from the Climate Council says.

The risks included coastal and river flooding, extreme wind and bushfires.

The top 10 most uninsurable electorates in Australia were mostly at risk from river flooding, which threatened about 80 per cent of the at-risk properties.

In Queensland, one in six properties (6.5 per cent) were predicted to be “high risk”, compared to an Australia-wide average of 4 per cent.

Climate councillor and economist Nicki Huntley said it was “clear that Queensland is fast becoming an uninsurable state”.

“Skyrocketing costs or flat out insurance ineligibility are becoming more and more widespread under climate change.”

Incumbent Wide Bay candidates Llew O’Brien (LNP) and Labor’s Geoff Williams have been contacted for comment.