A federal inquiry into insurers' responses to the catastrophic flooding during 2022 has heard from members of the public impacted by floodwaters, but let down by their insurers in the months and years that followed.

Caboolture

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A federal inquiry is currently underway to scrutinize the responses of insurance companies to the devastating floods that occurred in 2022. Members of the public who were impacted by the floodwaters have provided testimony to the inquiry. They have reported feeling let down by their insurers in the months and years following the catastrophe.



Insurance companies grilling at floods inquiry

Well, this is the first public hearing into this inquiry that's been examining insurers' responses to the major claims that were made during this flooding event in 2022 that lashed not only southeast Queensland, but also northern New South Wales. Now, we remember and many will remember the vision and the aftermath of this natural disaster with the many hundreds of flood victims that were impacted that still, nearly two years on, remain in limbo without having their insurance claims properly processed or even resolved. So today will be an opportunity for many to be able to share their experiences. Now, this inquiry was launched back in January and up until now, it's sort of heard from community organisations and businesses and this is really going to be the first time that it's hearing directly from those flood victims that were impacted. This is really the first time the committee is hearing directly from flood victims that were impacted in the 2022 event. Now, the Insurance Council of Australia has said that it was one of the most costliest natural disasters, estimating that the damage and insurance losses across both Queensland and New South Wales equated to more than $7 billion. The inquiry and the committee will be specifically examining the affordability and accessibility of not only insurance premiums, but also the timeframes and obstacles of resolving these claims and an insurer's preparedness for future flood events. Already, there's been more than 400 people who have responded to online survey as part of this federal inquiry who have shared their experiences and so the committee is anticipating that they might not actually be able to get through all the community responses they were expecting to get through. The committee is sitting in Caboolture today before moving on to Logan tomorrow and on Thursday they'll meet in Lismore in northern New South Wales where they'll hear from more flood victims and more councils that were impacted by this devastating event.

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