Page MP Janelle Saffin is inviting local people to comment on the Australian Government’s latest efforts towards making flood insurance simpler and more effective.
“Our region has been through its share of devastating floods, and after every flood there are local residents caught up in disputes over what is covered by their insurance policies,” Ms Saffin said.
In November the Government announced its response to the Natural Disaster Insurance Review, which was commissioned to examine insurance for flood and other natural disasters following the summer floods of 2010 and 2011.
The Assistant Treasurer, Bill Shorten, has now released draft regulations including a proposed standard definition of “flood” for insurance contracts of home building and home contents (combined and individual policies); small business; and strata title insurance policies.
The proposed definition is:
Flood means the covering of normally dry land by water that has escaped or been released from the normal confines of:
A. any lake, or any river, creek or other natural watercourse, whether or not altered or modified; or.
B. any reservoir, canal, or dam
Ms Saffin said people are entitled to know exactly what is, and what is not, covered under their insurance policies.
“In the past, too many of those affected by floods have been unaware that their insurance policy didn’t cover flood.
“I would like to see a system where all insurance policies must offer flood cover for the home and contents, unless the customer specifically decides to ‘opt out’ of flood cover. I also don’t want them to raise the prices though, so flood insurance is not affordable.
“In an encouraging development, CGU Insurance to extend flood coverage based on these regulations, to all home, contents and landlord policies nationally. I’d like to see the other insurers follow CGU’s lead.
“The release of the draft regulations is an important step in ensuring people can make informed decisions about the level of flood cover they need.
“The Government is seeking comments on the definition of “flood” proposed in the regulations along with other aspects,” Ms Saffin said.
The draft regulations can be found on the Treasury website www.treasury.gov.au
The deadline for submissions is 3 February 2012.