Push for government intervention in insurance
Townsville mayor Jenny Hill has backed calls for government intervention in the insurance market in North Queensland, saying the industry’s treatment of strata property owners is unfair.
She said government-backed schemes helped hold down premiums in areas such as health insurance and insurance for councils and could do the same for general building cover, according to the Townsville Bulletin.
“I fully support the community trying to bring some realistic values back into insurance,” Cr Hill said. “I think it comes down to whether the state government is prepared to bring back something like a Suncorp.”
Apartment owners in residential strata title properties in North Queensland have had average 300% increases in insurance premiums since Cyclone Yasi tore through North Queensland in February 2011.
Apart from having a government player enter the market, such as the Northern Territory government’s Territory Insurance Office, there has also been support for the federal government’s Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation, set up to provide re-insurance for terrorism, to be extended to storm events, according to the Townsville Bulletin.
A recent Roy Morgan survey of 13,485 businesses found only 34% of Queensland enterprises have property insurance. That was down 6% since 2011.
The Insurance Council of Australia said recent catastrophes in Queensland and NSW had so far triggered 31,800 claims worth an estimated $328 Pillion.
Photo Townsville Bulletin
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