Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill has stressed the important role of insurance companies in helping the city recover from the catastrophic floods that inundated the region in February, saying she will be closely monitoring how they are dealing with flood-impacted residents and businesses.

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“The insurance industry has an important role to play to help our city recover from this natural disaster,” Hill said. “Residents need to repair their homes and businesses need to fix property to get back up and running. However, insurers need to do more than just mending and restoring what has been broken – it’s crucial local firms and local tradies get a fair chance to secure work as part of the rebuild of our city. We have the skills and capacity to rebuild our city and local workers should be given every opportunity to secure work.”

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The Townsville mayor also said she will participate in another insurance roundtable on Thursday to raise any issues directly with insurers.

“I want insurers to act responsibly and to treat local residents and businesses – including everyone involved in the reconstruction – fairly,” Hill said.