Flooding protection to reduce insurance premiums up to 80%

With the recent announcement that Suncorp will recommence writing new home and contents insurance policies in the previously embargoed town of Roma, there could even be reductions in premiums of up to 80%.

After a 16 month embargo on the town, Suncorp Personal Insurance CEO, Mark Milliner, announced that after the construction of a levee to protect Queensland's Roma from flooding, premiums will be re-priced.

New insurance policies will be sold on existing risk levels at present. Some townships had seen premiums skyrocket to unheard of levels after floods.

Current estimates for a typical $300,000 home indicate that Roma residents may see an average reduction of 30% once the levee is completed.

Those in the more floodprone areas may see this jump up to 80%.

“Since 2008 Suncorp paid out more than $100 million within the Roma region in home and motor insurance claims as a result of storms and floods," said Milliner.

“Suncorp prices insurance policies based on the risks that individual properties face, so upon completion of the levee bank we will undertake a major re-pricing of our policies for the entire town of Roma," he said.

This also occured in Charleville, where mitigation works are currently complete. Those with home and contents insurances saw their policies reduced by an average of $400.

"Without their investment in mitigation, theaverage price of a new policy in Charleville would have been more than $3,000, and today it is about $990,” Mr Milliner added.

{module Would you buy a property in a previously flood-affected area if mitigation measures were on the cards?}