Yahoo Finance 60% of home insurance policies don’t cover this type of flood damage
People living beside a body of water have been warned to check their insurance policy covers any possible damage that might be inflicted by flooding events currently ravaging the country.
According to comparison company Mozo, as many as 60 per cent of home insurance policies do not cover “storm surge” damage, which is caused by waves or rising sea water created by extreme stormy weather.
The analysis of 63 home insurance policies from 43 insurance providers also found 15 per cent of policies required customers to opt in to get “flood cover”, which is damage from a dam, river or ocean overflowing.
“Every home is different and comes with a different set of risks, so it’s important to have
a home insurance policy that protects your home and the risks that surround it,” Tom Godfrey, Mozo spokesperson, said.
Sadly, sky-high insurance premiums stop many homeowners from getting insurance at all, with premiums as high as $30,000 a year reported in high-risk areas.
‘Insurance catastrophe’ declared in flood zones
Yesterday, the Insurance Council of Australia labelled the South-East Queensland and Northern New South Wales flood zones an “insurance catastrophe”.
Insurers received almost 31,000 claims from households and businesses affected by the devastating floods yesterday - a 107 per cent increase from the day before.
The number of claims has already outstripped the claims count seen during last year’s floods in New South Wales and South-East Queensland.
The insurance body also said it was “too soon” to estimate the costs of the event.
The final damage bill is likely to be in the hundreds of millions, with last year’s devastating floods in New South Wales and Queensland amounting to around $600 million.
Those impacted by floods may be eligible for a $1,000 Disaster Recovery Payment.
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