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Suncorp ramps up call for action on flood risks

Suncorp expected to receive 44,000 claims from the recent floods as it revealed its total natural hazard claims would easily surpass 100,000 this financial year and total costs would reach $1.1 billion.

Mar 16, 2022, updated Mar 16, 2022
Suncorp CEO Steve Johnston.

Suncorp CEO Steve Johnston.

The staggering impact on its insurance business has been mitigated by re-insurance which will bring the costs to the business down to $75 million.

But chief executive Steve Johnston again implored governments to act to reduce the impact by improving planning laws, introducing subsidies for home improvements to deal with natural hazards, reduce taxes and charges on insurance policies and building infrastructure like levees.

“We know that levees and other elements of public investment do mitigate against flood risk. We have seen that particularly in Roma,” Johnston said.

“We know there are a number of levee proposals sitting on the shelf locked up at the moment between for local, state and federal government and they could be moved very quickly into implementation phases.

“It seems odd to me that you can get a subsidy to put a solar panel on your roof but it’s very difficult to get a subsidy to batten down your roof to mitigate against a category four or five cyclone.

“Our priorities here are all wrong.”

He said there was a high correlation between people from low socio-economic backgrounds and those living in flood prone areas. He said the cost of insurance was increased by 30 per cent in Queensland by taxes and charges.

The Insurance Council last month released a report which claimed that for a $2 billion investment in natural hazard mitigation savings would be $19 billion by 2050.

Claims from Queensland from the recent floods accounted for about 60 per cent of the 34,000 so far received. The rest were in NSW and 80 per cent of the total related to home damage.

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In Brisbane, Suncorp data showed Deagon had the greatest number of claims.

 

 

 

 

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