Flood insurance fears for hundreds of thousands of Australian families

In Queensland, a third of all Brisbane homes are predicted to be in the firing line, with almost 50,000 homes deemed high risk.

Half of all properties on the Gold Coast are also at risk of severe flooding.

“Probability of floods has probably increased 20 per cent because of climate change, it’s on track to double or even triple in some places,” Karl Mallon from Climate Valuation said.

“It’s not just riverine flooding, we’ve got to remember the sea levels are rising as well.”

The areas of most concern include south-east Queensland, Northern NSW and regional Victoria.

In Victoria, more than half the properties in Greater Shepparton are considered high risk while in Ballina, in northern NSW, 15,000 are at risk.

In Adelaide’s City of Charles Sturt, 50,000 properties are at risk of severe flooding.

Brisbane resident Michael O’Toole said the flood damage to his Windsor home was heartbreaking and he cannot afford to pay tens of thousands of dollars in insurance.

“You’ve always got to fight tooth and nail to get it, a lot of the time,” he said.

Sophie Ryan from iSelect said it was crucial for home owners to be thorough when looking at insurance coverage.

“Do your research, we really encourage you to compare your policy and really read through that product disclosure statement, go through it with a fine-tooth comb,” she said.

There are growing calls for councils to review planning codes to ensure homes aren’t built in high-risk areas, and to ensure buildings meet strict criteria to reduce the impacts of floods.

A Brisbane City Council spokesperson said plans for future flood mitigation are being considered.

“The city’s preparedness for floods is being reviewed,” they said, in a statement.

“Former governor Paul de Jersey will make recommendations about Brisbane’s preparedness for floods in his review.”

Mr Mallon said the responsibility for flood mitigation solely lies with the government.

“When there’s a disaster they say ‘it’s nothing to do with us’, well it is,” he said.

“Government sets the planning code, and sets the building code and frankly the government is deciding what we’re doing on climate change.”