AN INSURANCE broker has blamed a downgrading of the Wagga CBD levee bank and the uncertainty about the levee upgrade undertaken by council as the reason flood insurance is limited for central customers.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But Peter Brown of Peter Brown and Associates has reinforced flood cover is certainly available for people willing to pay, with access to a scope of options available only through an insurance broker.
An article published in Thursday's The Daily Advertiser detailed the difficulty of securing flood cover with home and contents insurance for central Wagga residents.
"The article referred to 'direct' insurers who deal direct with the public," Mr Brown said.
"They're always going to be cheaper because they're not paying commission to intermediaries and their policies generally do not offer the scope and breadth of the cover available through a broker.
"Flood (cover) is still available."
Mr Brown said WWCC's re-rating of the levee bank from a one-in-100-year flood to a one-in-60-year flood had prompted insurance companies to reassess their premiums and, and in certain areas, policy cover.
"The result is insurers who were offering flood now have a different perspective because of the re-rating," he said.
"Since the levee bank was built, there's not been a drop of water in the CBD, but the re-rating of the levee's capacity is being assessed by insurers as though there was no levee at all.
"Insurers are having difficulty rating flood as an insurance risk and the variance in the premiums between insurers certainly supports this view."
Mr Brown estimated the cost to insure an average home for flood cover in the CBD would be about $2000 and $2500, while the same cover for a home elsewhere in Wagga would be about $1000 and $1200.
He suggested the cost of cover prior to the re-rating was about $1000 and $1200 in the CBD.
"Flood insurance is still available," he clarified.
"It's available, but it comes at a cost.
"The only way options for flood insurance can be accessed is to consult a broker.
"Insurers are getting very sophisticated with how they can assess flood information and flood mapping, but the variances between companies suggests that they still have a way to go premium-wise."
Mr Brown said Roma's premiums for flood cover were reduced by up to 70 per cent after a levee bank was built around the town in the wake of the 2012 floods.
"(Work on the levee bank) certainly needs to be put very high on the agenda because people will be paying higher premiums until they've upgraded it," Mr Brown said.
WWCC Councillor Alan Brown confirmed the levee had been recalculated recently.
"The current class of the (CBD) levee is a one-in-60 (year) and the intention of council is to work through and, if feasible, raise it to a one-in-100-year level," he said yesterday.
"We've worked through a consultative process and we're moving toward a design phase to achieve that goal.
"It's intended to source the funds from both state and federal (government)."
