Mapped: When Qld homes will become ‘uninsurable’

Nearly 200,000 houses in Queensland are predicted to be effectively “uninsurable” by the end of the decade. Use our tool and find out the level of risk in your region.

Australia’s growing home insurance affordability crisis is set to hit Queensland harder than any other state, with nearly 200,000 houses predicted to be effectively “uninsurable” by the end of the decade.

New modelling from the Climate Council reveals 1 in 16 Queensland homes (6.5 per cent, or 193,232 dwellings) are projected to be “high risk” for insurance purposes by 2030. This contrasts with a nationwide average of 4 per cent.

A list of the federal electorates most at risk of a home insurance affordability crisis in 2030 is dominated by Queensland seats, with Griffith, Brisbane, Wright, Moncrieff and Maranoa all sitting in the top 10.

According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), one in nine homes (11 per cent) are now covered by no insurance at all, and the proportion is even higher in some regions: 17 per cent in North Queensland, 26 per cent in the Top End and 40 per cent in the north of WA.

The ACCC found the cost of premiums has jumped 52 per cent in a decade, and a massive 178 per cent in the north. People in northern Australia are now paying an average of $1900 a year for their home insurance, while the rest of the country is paying less than half that – $900.

The price increases for policies have been attributed to the increasing incidence of extreme weather events, illustrated most vividly by the back-to-back floods that hit Lismore in February and March.

Ipswich mayor Teresa Harding said home insurance had become increasingly unaffordable for residents.

“People have shown me their [home insurance] bills. In Goodna I had a resident show me their bill of $11,400,” Ms Harding said. “I’ve also heard anecdotally of insurance bills going up to $24,000. I don’t know many families that could afford something like that.”

The Climate Council estimates more than half a million Australian properties will face annual premiums exceeding 1 per cent of their market value by the year 2030. For a family home worth $500,000, this would mean premiums costing $5000 every year.

Industry critics say such costs make properties “uninsurable,” but the industry disputes the tag.

“At present there is no area of Australia that is uninsurable, although there are some locations where there are clearly affordability and availability concerns,” an Insurance Council of Australia spokesperson said.

“Insurance prices risk, and that means that for those in flood-prone or cyclone-prone locations cover can be costly.”

Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding.

Nicki Hutley from the Climate Council. Picture: Supplied

The calculation of those risks can change rapidly. Just last week, a global study of cyclone activity updated the probability of a Category-3 storm near Cairns from being a once-in-48 year event to a once-in-21 year event.

The Climate Council modelling was conducted by Climate Valuation, a consultancy that provides advice to businesses on the risks posed by extreme weather. The modelling does not take into account the possibility of new mitigation efforts such as higher levees which could reduce the risk of damage to homes.

Flooding in Ipswich, February 2022. Picture: Liam Kidston

Climate Council economist Nicky Hutley said the purpose of the insurance report was to emphasise the idea that climate change had economic effects for individuals, “rather than just some broader existential crisis”.

“Up until quite recently we see these [extreme weather] events as being maybe 1 in 20 or 30 or 100 year events – a one-off disaster and then we move on – whereas the point of this modelling is that these are no longer one off things. These events are going to occur more and more frequently and the costs to the community are extremely high,” Ms Hutley said.

The Insurance Council said climate change was “worsening extreme weather events, which has implications for affordability and availability of insurance”.

In February, the Insurance Council called on the federal government to boost funding for resilience measures such as flood levees, hazard reduction burning and the cyclone-proofing of homes.