Lake council to work with insurers
By DAMON CRONSHAW Lake Macquarie Reporter
May 6, 2013, 10:30 p.m.
WATERFRONT: Sea-level rise is not behind the massive insurance premium hikes some lakefront properties have faced recently, according to Lake Macquarie City Council.
WATERFRONT: Sea-level rise is not behind the massive insurance premium hikes some lakefront properties have faced recently, according to Lake Macquarie City Council.
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SKYROCKETING insurance premiums for houses would be tackled in Lake Macquarie with a city council plan to work with the insurance industry to reduce prices.
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Lake Macquarie council has dismissed suggestions that massive premium increases are linked to its sea-level rise policy, which the industry has confirmed.
A council report said a Valentine resident had complained that homes and contents insurance, with flood cover, had risen from $927 in 2011 to $3104 last year – a 334 per cent increase.
The Insurance Council of Australia said premiums for homes and contents in coastal NSW had soared by up to 50 per cent in the past two years.
This was not because of climate change, but a trend towards building big, expensive homes in less intelligent ways and in highly hazard-prone areas.
Sea-level rise was ‘‘not covered and not considered’’ in premiums, an Insurance Council report said.
Lake Macquarie mayor Jodie Harrison said premium price rises reflected new insurance policies for ‘‘full flood coverage’’, increased costs for reinsurance, and recent floods and bushfires in Queensland and Victoria.
The council report said household coverage for ‘‘riverine flooding’’ had been available in Australia only since 2007, in response to government and community pressure.
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Increased premiums had coincided with many councils, including Lake Macquarie, updating their flood plans to include consideration of predicted sea-level rise, the report said.
‘‘Many residents have mistakenly linked the insurance increases to revised flood plans.’’
Cr Harrison said the council would work with the insurance industry to ‘‘ensure that flood insurance premiums are as low as possible’’.