Flood insurance inquiry to visit Far North Queensland

THE House Standing Committee on Economics will hold public hearings in Cairns and Townsville, Queensland, as part of its inquiry into insurers’ responses to 2022 major floods claims.

The hearings will be held at Cairns RSL Club on Wednesday July 24 and Townsville RSL Clubon Thursday July 25.

Committee Chair Daniel Mulino MP said the committee hoped to learn from northern communities’ claims experiences following recent disasters, including cyclones.

“We are also interested in evidence of any improvements by the insurance industry since the Deloitte report on insurers’ responses to the 2022 floods and the related 2023 ASIC report on claims handling," Mr Mulino said.

Invitations have been issued to councils, business associations and community groups. Other organisations and individuals that wish to give evidence can email their interest to the Committee secretariat at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The committee is interested in:

• the experiences of policyholders before, during and after making claims;
• timeframes for resolving claims;
• obstacles to resolving claims;
• insurers’ communication with policyholders;
• accessibility, affordability and quality of hydrology reports and other expert assessments;
• affordability of insurance premiums; and
• claimants’ experiences of insurers’ dispute resolution processes.

Dr Mulino said it may not be possible to accommodate everyone interested in speaking, but those who miss out “can still make a public or confidential submission, and/or complete our online survey".

More than 600 people have completed the inquiry’s survey about their experience with their insurer. The survey is open until July 31 and is available here.

Submissions can be uploaded through this online link or emailed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. until July 31, 2024.

Programs for the Queensland hearings will be posted on the inquiry website closer to the time. A live audio stream of the hearings will be available on the APH website.

The committee’s final public hearing, to be held online in late July, will take evidence from expert and state government bodies.

The committee will report its findings by October 18, 2024.

For further information contact the Committee secretariat on 02 6277 4707 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 

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