Flood-affected Bendigo residents fed up with insurance claim delays are increasingly turning to council for support, drawing out claims even further and passing on costs to ratepayers.
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A parliamentary inquiry into the handling of flood insurance had heard the City of Greater Bendigo had experienced a 200 per cent increase in public liability claims after the October 2022 and January 2024 floods.
Frustrated flood-ravaged families were looking to council to help support them in having their insurance claims settled, according to city emergency management officer Kim Ross.
"When community members have no insurance cover or their prior experience with their insurer has been inadequate or distressing, they naturally turn to other avenues," Ms Ross told the inquiry in Heathcote on Friday, April 19.
Managing claims 'ultimately funded by ratepayers'
These public liability claims were generally not successful and resulted in further distress to community members and delays in payouts, Ms Ross said.
"And managing claims requires resourcing by the city and ultimately is funded by ratepayers," she said.
The City of Greater Bendigo was among regional councils who gave evidence at the parliamentary inquiry into insurers' responses to claims after the 2022 flood event in Heathcote.
Inquiry chair Dr Daniel Mulino said his committee had found that claims sat unresolved for sometimes two years after the flood.
"What we are looking at is the human side of this story and how we can make the system work better in the future," he said.
Premiums rising after consecutive floods
Some flood victims had reported spiralling premiums or reduced insurability after consecutive flood events, something Dr Mulino said required a multi-pronged approach by the government.
Mitigation was one of the government's broader responses to affordability, he said.
"Over the last several decades Australia spent 97 per cent [of natural disaster funding] on cleaning up and almost nothing on preparation and mitigation before natural disasters," Dr Mulino said.
"This government has shifted that dial significantly."
The government's Hazards Insurance Partnership minimum $200 million a year investment into mitigation projects across the country was critical, he said.
Increased competition in the insurance sector and households investing in "resilience" drove down premiums, Mr Mulino said.
Federal member for Bendigo Lisa Chesters said a Parliamentary Friends of Insurance group was also investigating increased premiums for flood victims.
"And I can imagine that some of our residents today will be raising that very issue and how it's impacting cost of living and their household budgets at the inquiry today," she said.
