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| Marelle Hughes from North Ipswich has been hit by an increase of insurance fees after water flooded her yard in the 2011 floods. |
PREMIUMS for home and contents insurance are skyrocketing in southeast Queensland as insurers set out to recoup billion-dollar payouts from the 2011 flood.
Some consumers are being forced to pay for flood cover despite living outside flood-prone areas.
A Brisbane homeowner who lives on a hill in a suburb not affected by the 2011 floods has seen his insurance rise from $850 to $1170 a year.
Others who were flooded in 2011 are still searching for an insurer to cover them.
Disabled pensioner Marelle Hughes of North Ipswich received a Suncorp renewal letter last Thursday seeking $2100 to insure her three-bedroom home and contents. The premium was $800 last year.
"I told them on the phone they made me a victim all over again, that's what it felt like," she said.
"My insurance is now more than my house payment."
Being on a fixed income Ms Hughes said she would have to cut back on food and petrol and all luxuries to make ends meet.
She probably will drop her contents insurance to make the policy affordable at $1500.
While the flood did not damage her long-established home, possessions worth about $10,000 were destroyed.
QBE told Ms Hughes she had no flood cover so she didn't file a claim. Instead, she switched to Suncorp, happy to get a $800 policy that included flood.
"I told everyone else to do the same. Now I'm really upset," she said.
"At my age it is not feasible to move."
The pensioner was so stunned by the price jump she thought the renewal figure was an error, but Suncorp said the property had a clear flood risk.
In Brisbane, residents of a Graceville townhouse complex heavily damaged during the flood have been unable to get a quote for flood cover despite contacting several insurers. Residents have only contents insurance.
Consumer watchdog Choice spokeswoman Ingrid Just said insurance customers were "pretty gobsmacked" by home premium hikes.
She urged consumers to aggressively shop around for insurance, and to get quotes in writing before making the switch or negotiating with their current insurer. Insurers have accepted a common definition of flood, which has been "very helpful" but policies were still littered with legalese.
The Insurance Council of Australia said it did not have information on average premium increases.
Boss Rob Whelan said data showed four of five household insurance policies now contained flood cover. In 2006, 3 per cent of policies had the cover because only 7 per cent of homes had flood risk.
www.CourierMail.com.au
25.9.12
