The government’s inquiry into insurers’ response to Australia’s most costly flood has released its report.

The inquiry’s chair, Daniel Mulino MP, said the title: Flood failure to future fairness, reflected “the collective failure by insurers to meet their obligations to policyholders after the 2022 floods.”

The report contains 86 recommendations. If adopted, they will significantly change the way insurers deal with floods, claims and impacted customers.

Enforceable Code through insurance contracts

Recommendations in the report include:

• registration of the General Insurance Code of Practice with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and that the Code be made enforceable through insurance contracts
• standardising key terms across all insurance contracts through legislated definitions, including rainfall runoff, storm surge, wear and tear and lack of maintenance
• new regulatory guidance by ASIC to clarify that insurers cannot deny claims based solely on expert reports that do not link the damage observed with the reported cause

More temporary accommodation

There are also recommendations, said the media release, to address inadequate temporary accommodation arrangements.

“We believe insurers should, by default, assume the risk of how long it takes to complete works, and to bear the cost of temporary accommodation,” said Mulino.

Disclosure of flood risk levels

The report also responds to the growing number of uninsurable properties at very high risk by recommending disclosure of flood risk levels through property conveyancing and rental agreements.

The 2022 floods in February and March impacted large areas of NSW and Queensland resulting in more than 240,000 claims. The catastrophe has cost insurers $6.3 billion – a country record.

The government’s inquiry involved more than 20 days of hearings and received 81 submissions. The leaders of major insurance firms, consumer advocates and regulators all gave testimony.

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