Flood and cyclone-prone areas in eastern Australia may be ‘uninsurable’ by 2030, report suggests

(The Guardian, 2 May 2022) Report mapped 10 electorates considered most at risk of becoming uninsurable due to flood, fire and other extreme weather risk.

Extreme weather due to the climate crisis is expected to increasingly make some Australian homes “uninsurable”, with a new report suggesting up to one in 25 households will struggle to be covered by 2030.

The analysis by the Climate Council, using data from consultants Climate Valuation, mapped the 10 electorates across the country considered most at risk of becoming uninsurable due to flood, fire and other extreme weather risk.

The most at-risk areas were mostly found to be in flood and cyclone-prone areas of Queensland and in parts of Victoria built over flood plains near major rivers.

“Uninsurable” is defined in the report as an area where the required type of insurance product was expected to be not available, or only available at such high cost that no one could afford it.

Nicki Hutley, an economist and member of the Climate Council who wrote the report, said insurance costs were already rising sharply and people were struggling to get insurance in parts of the country. She said people were seeing changes, citing the black summer bushfires and the recent devastating floods in northern New South Wales.

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The Guardian, 2 May 2022: Flood and cyclone-prone areas in eastern Australia may be ‘uninsurable’ by 2030, report suggests