Queensland Flood Emergency Information
Disaster Recovery Hotline: 1800 173 349
State Emergency Service: 132 500
Does your Home Insurance cover flood damage ?
Being near Brisbane, and seeing the massive flooding that is occurring here in January 2011, checking my own insurance for flood cover did crop up in family conversations.
I am aware that not all policies cover it, but I am also aware that our location is very unlikely to be affected by floods. However, how many of those now underwater thought the same….
Apparently many policies that do say that they have Flood cover, may not actually cover many of the current claimants, as the wording may exclude certain claims.
Many policies only cover for flash flooding and storm damage:
Flash flood and stormwater run-off:
A sudden flood caused by heavy rain that fell no more than 24 hours prior to the flash flood or stormwater run-off.
My policy expires in 7 days time, and I am tempted to play safe and insure next with a company who do provide this extra peace of mind, assuming I am not already covered.
A list of common insurers:
- AAMI: AAMI Home Insurance does not cover flood : http://www.aami.com.au/customer-service/insurance-glossary.aspx
- Suncorp: Suncorp Home and Contents Insurance now gives you automatic cover for flood damage : http://www.suncorp.com.au/insurance/home-contents-insurance/flood
- RACQ : Flood and Storm Surge – This policy does not cover flood unless we have agreed and it is shown on your certificate of insurance. Page 15 of http://www.racq.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/52627/Household_PDS_-_FINAL.pdf
- NRMA Queensland: The Policy Documents state – Flood is NOT covered by this policy – this is on page 70 of www.nrmaqld.com.au/documents/policy-booklets/home-policy.pdf (updated after comment received)
- NRMA : The website clearly states: Flood cover – We cover you for water damage, storms and other causes of flooding, including damage caused by major flooding and when rainfall outside your local area causes nearby creeks and rivers to overflow. http://www.nrma.com.au/home-insurance/building-contents-combined/features-benefits.shtml
However, for those like myself, whose insurance renewal is right now, we may have no choices…
eg: I just tried to get a quote at Suncorp and after entering my postcode, I got this..
I have been told by Suncorp that this is only a temporary measure, and should be removed, within days, once this emergency is over.
The insurance companies are expecting a financial hit with the many claims to come, and may well be protecting themselves, so that they are better able to deal with current policyholders. It makes sense.
On checking some alternative Quotes so far, the policies that do include full flood cover are about 50% higher in price than my current policy which, I have just found out, does NOT include full flood cover.