Re-Insurance in Fire, Flood, Hurricane Areas

Have friend who lives in the East coast of the US adjacent to the water, they get 2 or 3 Hurricanes every year, they seem to miss him. I asked what did he do re insurance, he said he does not have any, Firstly its so hard to get money out of the Insurance company and they drag it on for years B4 coming up with the $, and also the high cost of same. He lives in an expensive house and is reasonably well off, but to me it would be a worry.

I hope Oz does not follow the US for similar, along with Fire and floods. I think the Insurance Co's. in Oz average it out a bit so those in non Flood, Fire, Hurricane areas, pay a bit more for cover, so those in these areas are not forced out by very high cover.

( Should have mentioned Earthquakes in SA)

PeterInSa wrote:Have friend who lives in the East coast of the US adjacent to the water, they get 2 or 3 Hurricanes every year, they seem to miss him. I asked what did he do re insurance, he said he does not have any, Firstly its so hard to get money out of the Insurance company and they drag it on for years B4 coming up with the $, and also the high cost of same. He lives in an expensive house and is reasonably well off, but to me it would be a worry.

I hope Oz does not follow the US for similar, along with Fire and floods. I think the Insurance Co's. in Oz average it out a bit so those in non Flood, Fire, Hurricane areas, pay a bit more for cover, so those in these areas are not forced out by very high cover.

( Should have mentioned Earthquakes in SA)

Many in flood effected areas in NSW and Qld have no insurance simply because they cannot afford the premiums. Even those with premiums may not find themselves fully covered and i would expect their premiums would rise as they will for most of us. With these extreme weather events becoming more common then fewer and fewer people will be able to afford insurance particularly in flood and fire prone areas.

My house insurance increased by 24.9% just before these storms. God only Knows what it will increase by next year. 50%?

xmas tree wrote:My house insurance increased by 24.9% just before these storms. God only Knows what it will increase by next year. 50%?

One of the poor people that lost everything in the flood said on the TV that he was uninsured because his premium had gone up to $15,000 per year!

I think what would be worse, if you had purchased a property that had never experienced a Flood ( and you had checked Flood History in the area) to find your home under water in the recent "Rain Bomb", not only would you be hit with higher insurance premiums but the value of your home would free fall.
If I had problems with insurance, my solution as a DIY handyman would be to do all the repairs myself and mates if required eg Sparkie, with furniture from the Salvos, Vinnies and friends until it can gradually replaced and enjoy the home and surrounds until I find a new home in the hear after.

It's like my ole pappy used to say. Son, never ever build your house on a flood plain or sand because one day it will either wash your house foundations away from under you or it'l drown you and everything you own.

Unfortunately councils are allowing people build on these flood prone area's .
It's all about the money? surely town planning depts should be thinking maybe these dwellings should be on higher poles/stilts now?
There are new house close by here that are built on concrete slabs when clearly stumps would be more appropriate because of their proximity to the creeks.
It's frustrating seeing flood prone towns with a mix of the old houses on stilts and houses on slabs right next door, I guess it is a lot harder for the elderly to navigate a dozen flight of stairs.
In flood prone towns People do take the gamble as they are told it's a once in a hundred year event and land is less cheaper.


cheers moredeep

As an ex Queenslander, I have watch Dam proposals come and go at the bequest of Greenies and “Not in my Backyard” brigade, I wonder what would be the situation if one or more of these Dam proposals had gone ahead.

https://www.smh.com.au/environment/unacceptable-garrett-rejects-blighs-traveston-dam-20091111-i91e.html

https://www.professionalstamborinemountain.com.au/2019/10/the-wolffdene-dam-a-retrospective/

The property developers and real estate agents and Govs that release this land , who flog this flood plain land to people spin them bs about how wonderful the drainage systems are these days  and that there is little or no chance of it ever flooding should be held accountable when the floods come because they know that these flood plains will flood and that entire towns can be destroyed along with many people loosing their lives along with stock , crops, animals and pets.
They know these floods will come but choose to take a punt and hope that is won't happen.
They give these places  names like River Front Paradise or Water front gardens estate  etc  knowing full well that one day it will all be under water.

Then you try and get house & land insurance for your Flood front Gardens only to find that the insurance companies already know that the land is flood prone and will charge a high premium for a policy that almost nobody can afford and those who can afford it do not purchase house and land on flood plains......Unless they intend to lease it to some unsuspecting and trusting  family.

Here in the ACT the land is Leasehold (nobody owns the land that their house is built on) and so insurance is much lower (but still bloody high enough) than in those flood and fire prone areas of NSW and QLD where the land is Freehold.

For some unknown reason here in the ACT we pay as much for house and Leasehold land as those
in other States who purchase freehold.

Agree somewhat peter, other examples are of towns promised money by governments [ piggy in a barrell ] for levee's etc only to see
it somehow disappear into the ether.
Carisbrook here in vic was allocated money for a town levee but it ended up elsewhere, there was an investigation which I think got resolved
and funding has now been approved


cheers moredeep

The big problem with getting house insurance is not how much your house is worth, but how much it would cost to build another one if it gets destroyed by flood or fire. If your house is valued at say $400,000 without the land , then it may cost twice that to rebuild with brand new materials, labour and all the costs associated with complying with local regulations which may have changed significantly since the house was first built and getting permits etc. You will never get a house rebuilt for the same price as it`s current market value. Hence insurance is simply out of reach for many people.

Would building a hand full of big dams with big pumps and pipes and some sort of drainage system from the towns to the dams be the answer to future flooding problems QLD and NSW ?

The answer is no. There has always been flooding and always will be. Throughout my life 3 weeks or more of heavy rain was and is considered normal.
Town planning is to blame for a lot of what's happening now.

About fires, People simply can't get insurance in some areas. Like the hills area in Perth (uninsurable) because the conservationists hold all the cards. You're not allowed to clear around your house or cut down any trees.

Bloody insanity.

moredeep wrote:Agree somewhat peter, other examples are of towns promised money by governments [ piggy in a barrell ] for levee's etc only to see
it somehow disappear into the ether.
Carisbrook here in vic was allocated money for a town levee but it ended up elsewhere, there was an investigation which I think got resolved
and funding has now been approved


cheers moredeep

So do you think we need more dykes MD?

cheers moredeep

adrian, when we lived in Canberra at Narrabundah Heights ( Just down the road from Gorton who later became prime minster or was that after he became PM), a large area on the Flats at Narrabundah was flooded after very heavy rain. This was around 1967.

Yes although that was before my time here. Also I believe that somebody drowned in Tuggeranong valley flooding circa 1978?.
Canberra Storm water drainage has improved a lot since those days, especially in our area in Chisholm although we have had the water at our lounge room door from runoff from the property behind us. I put in some pavers and extra drainage after that and we have been ok since.
Coming back from Batemans Bay one dark and stormy night saw us hit a deep patch of water across the Kings HW that almost stalled the lill Corrolla but it managed to splutter on through.
the streets in Woden/Phillipp can still get a bit risky during heavy rain.

soldier of fortune wrote:The big problem with getting house insurance is not how much your house is worth, but how much it would cost to build another one if it gets destroyed by flood or fire. If your house is valued at say  $400,000 without the land , then it may cost twice that to rebuild with brand new materials, labour and all the costs associated with complying with local regulations which may have changed  significantly since the house was first built and getting permits etc.  You will never get a house rebuilt for the same price as it`s current market value. Hence insurance is simply out of reach for many people.

Just as a matter of interest:
When we purchased our house and land in 87 we paid close to 89,000 dollars.The house cost the builder 25,000 to build and the land was valued at about 25,000 also
A good rip off profit for somebody aye.

The problem is investors and real estate agents and auctioneers. Greed is what pushes housing prices up.

T

Building in flood areas requires a simple town planning stipulation, which is that all houses should be built on stilts at least 3mtrs high.
My bro in law did this years ago. The only thing at ground level was the laundry supporting the stair case.

Such an obvious solution butch
4 or 5 mtrs may be needed in the Lismore area now


cheers moredeep