Queensland Floods Aftermath

It didn't take long for the vultures to gather over the heads of the people who have lost everything and don't have flood insurance. "If people do not purchase flood insurance, they will not be covered" said an Australian Insurance Council (IAC) spokesman yesterday. It is estimated that half of all insured Queensland homes are not covered for flood damage. Why? Because it's too expensive. Only 50 per cent of insurance policies in Queensland provided flood cover.





An ICA spokesman said "People should asses their needs and get proper insurance coverage for their homes and not be guided by price." All very well for him to say, but the extra amount involved for flood insurance is more than some people can afford, or are prepared to pay. Now they are regretting that decision.


There are three types of flood insurance coverage: flash flooding, storm damage and river flooding. RACQ provides flood and river flooding as an optional extra and some companies were not prepared to offer flood protection in areas that have been flooded before. But there is one company who does - Suncorp - the biggest insurer in Queensland and the only one to automatically protect against flooding for home and contents insurance. They have received 5,000 claims so far and are expecting thousands more.


For those who don't have any insurance, Premier Anna Bligh's flood relief appeal which raised $35.8 million is there to help those most in need. And with half of all insured homes in Queensland not covered for flood damage, I believe the need will be great.

This is the second time Queensland has been devastated by floods so why hasn't the government done something about it? It all comes back to money - they don't like spending it on such a big project like putting more dams in, not only to conserve water in the drought but to stop flooding like this in the future. It's a crying shame to see all this water wasted and running out to sea. The lack of vision from both federal and state governments about what to do with our water is a national disgrace.