This link is to the Governments consultation process document – everybody’s chance to have their say.
http://www.treasury.gov.au/documents/2221/PDF/transparency_november2011.pdf
The closing date for submissions is 30th march, 2012.
Contributed by :
Jack Pearce
13 Sixth Avenue
RAYMOND ISLAND
VIC 3880
Phone: (03) 51 566 480: Mobile: 0457 114 523
Jack Pearce
13 Sixth Avenue
RAYMOND ISLAND
VIC 3880
Phone: (03) 51 566 480: Mobile: 0457 114 523
Contributed by :
Jack Pearce
13 Sixth Avenue
RAYMOND ISLAND
VIC 3880
Phone: (03) 51 566 480: Mobile: 0457 114 523t
Jack Pearce
13 Sixth Avenue
RAYMOND ISLAND
VIC 3880
Phone: (03) 51 566 480: Mobile: 0457 114 523t
Alternative ONE
Alternative TWO
Since about 150 to 400 Raymond Islander’s properties may be identified by insurers as ‘being at risk of flooding’ many Islanders may be interested in putting in a submission to Government on the issue of house and contents insurance, particularly the right to choose if they want flood insurance or not as it may be extremely expensive. We already know that RACV insurance has ‘jumped-the-gun’ and are already ‘providing’ compulsory flood insurance renewals with no ‘Opt-Out’ choice from 9th January 2012 with their, not your, identification of individual property’s flood risks.
This link is to the Governments consultation process document - everybody’s chance to have their say.
http://www.treasury.gov.au/documents/2221/PDF/transparency_november2011.pdf
The closing date for submissions is 30th march, 2012.
This link is to the Governments consultation process document - everybody’s chance to have their say.
http://www.treasury.gov.au/documents/2221/PDF/transparency_november2011.pdf
The closing date for submissions is 30th march, 2012.
A few media releases
Press release from Sharman Stone Federal Liberal MP for Murray – this is the best explanation and advice :
Click here
Press release from Sharman Stone Federal Liberal MP for Murray – this is the best explanation and advice :
Click here
A few media releases
Press release from Sharman Stone Federal Liberal MP for Murray – this is the best explanation and advice :
Click here
Press release from Sharman Stone Federal Liberal MP for Murray – this is the best explanation and advice :
Click here
From Mildura Weekly
3 press releases
30/12/2011
06/01/2012
13/01/2012
These three links work...persist
3 press releases
30/12/2011
06/01/2012
13/01/2012
These three links work...persist
Media releases
Press release from Sharman Stone Federal Liberal MP for Murray – this is the best explanation and advice :
Click here
Press release from Sharman Stone Federal Liberal MP for Murray – this is the best explanation and advice :
Click here
Contributed by :
Jack Pearce
13 Sixth Avenue
RAYMOND ISLAND
VIC 3880
Phone: (03) 51 566 480: Mobile: 0457 114 523t
Jack Pearce
13 Sixth Avenue
RAYMOND ISLAND
VIC 3880
Phone: (03) 51 566 480: Mobile: 0457 114 523t
Thank you for linking to this page
May we make two suggestions ?
One : Spend a few moments on this page, open the links, particularly the press release from Sharman Stone Federal Liberal MP for Murray
Two : Contact your insurance company and ask them for a quote now, do not wait until your policy is due.
One : Spend a few moments on this page, open the links, particularly the press release from Sharman Stone Federal Liberal MP for Murray
Two : Contact your insurance company and ask them for a quote now, do not wait until your policy is due.
Flood Insurance - an Islander’s experience
contribution by Kate McKinnon and Jack Pearce
contribution by Kate McKinnon and Jack Pearce
The issue of flood insurance could be about to hit Raymond Islanders hard, as some of us have recently discovered.
In November 2011, the Federal Government released a Consultation paper entitled “Reforming flood insurance - a proposal to improve availability and transparency”. The closing date for submissions is 30 March 2012.
The thrust of the proposal is that all insurers be required to offer flood cover in home building and home contents insurance policies, while allowing consumers to ‘opt out’ of flood cover.
RACV Insurance has decided to ‘jump the gun’ and introduce compulsory flood insurance in all house and contents policies effective from 9 January 2012. It has also decided not to offer an ‘opt out’ option.
We received our renewal notice from RACV on Monday 9 January, and were horrified to see that our annual premium had increased from $650.30 to $3,767 - an increase of $3,117 or 480%.
The justification for this was that “Information has been collected on behalf of RACV that allows for individual properties throughout Victoria to be accurately assessed and priced for the risk of flood. Your property has been identified as being at risk of flooding and your premium includes this cost”. When we asked who had provided the information, they refused to tell us.
Among the points made in the Consultation Paper is the Government’s proposal to provide “a single access point to existing flood mapping data which will enable consumers and other interested parties to obtain information about flood risk.” The Government also plans to develop national guidelines to cover the collection, comparability and reporting of flood risk information. Neither of these initiatives is actually in place yet.
The Consultation Paper goes on to acknowledge that: “Flood data is produced by local and State governments, with the quality and availability differing significantly between jurisdictions. Some local government areas have highly detailed maps publicly available while others do not have the capacity to produce the data at all.”
Our shire of East Gippsland, along with the local CMA and SES have done a lot of work over recent years on flood mapping and flood prediction modelling. My guess is that they would be streets ahead of some other shires. Yet the information available from these different sources is wildly inconsistent.
If consumers are unable to access up to date and reliable data on their own personal flood risk, how can they challenge any assessment made by the Insurer, particularly if the source of the Insurer’s information is ‘confidential’?
The Consultation Paper includes a table provided by the Insurance Council of Australia, which provides for 5 bands of flood risk. 93% of Australian properties are classified as having no flood risk, and the proposal suggests that flood insurance be provided without any additional premium to these households.
The remaining 7% are divided into low, medium, high and extreme, with indicative flood risk premiums for each band. These indicative premiums range from $77 to $6,777. The risk band is calculated on the likely frequency of a given property being damaged by flooding.
Due to the total lack of transparency, RACV customers are unable to even identify which risk band they have been allocated, since the flood risk premium is not shown separately. From our overall premium increase we figure we have been slotted into the Extreme risk band, meaning we are likely to be damaged by flood at least every 15 years.
Really? During the 2007 floods, when the flood was estimated at between 1 in 20 and 1 in 50 years, the water was nowhere near our property, much less our house, which is about half a metre above the ground.
Depending on whose data you look at, a significant proportion of Islanders who live in the “township” area are at risk of flooding, so many people may find themselves with premium increases in the 300-500% range.
Check your policy carefully (particularly if you are with RACV Insurance), and be prepared for a fight - even though you will be fighting with one hand behind your back until some transparency and accuracy is introduced into the process.
The links included on the Raymond Island website provide further information about this subject.
Kate McKinnon and Jack Pearce
Among the points made in the Consultation Paper is the Government’s proposal to provide “a single access point to existing flood mapping data which will enable consumers and other interested parties to obtain information about flood risk.” The Government also plans to develop national guidelines to cover the collection, comparability and reporting of flood risk information. Neither of these initiatives is actually in place yet.
The Consultation Paper goes on to acknowledge that: “Flood data is produced by local and State governments, with the quality and availability differing significantly between jurisdictions. Some local government areas have highly detailed maps publicly available while others do not have the capacity to produce the data at all.”
Our shire of East Gippsland, along with the local CMA and SES have done a lot of work over recent years on flood mapping and flood prediction modelling. My guess is that they would be streets ahead of some other shires. Yet the information available from these different sources is wildly inconsistent.
If consumers are unable to access up to date and reliable data on their own personal flood risk, how can they challenge any assessment made by the Insurer, particularly if the source of the Insurer’s information is ‘confidential’?
The Consultation Paper includes a table provided by the Insurance Council of Australia, which provides for 5 bands of flood risk. 93% of Australian properties are classified as having no flood risk, and the proposal suggests that flood insurance be provided without any additional premium to these households.
The remaining 7% are divided into low, medium, high and extreme, with indicative flood risk premiums for each band. These indicative premiums range from $77 to $6,777. The risk band is calculated on the likely frequency of a given property being damaged by flooding.
Due to the total lack of transparency, RACV customers are unable to even identify which risk band they have been allocated, since the flood risk premium is not shown separately. From our overall premium increase we figure we have been slotted into the Extreme risk band, meaning we are likely to be damaged by flood at least every 15 years.
Really? During the 2007 floods, when the flood was estimated at between 1 in 20 and 1 in 50 years, the water was nowhere near our property, much less our house, which is about half a metre above the ground.
Depending on whose data you look at, a significant proportion of Islanders who live in the “township” area are at risk of flooding, so many people may find themselves with premium increases in the 300-500% range.
Check your policy carefully (particularly if you are with RACV Insurance), and be prepared for a fight - even though you will be fighting with one hand behind your back until some transparency and accuracy is introduced into the process.
The links included on the Raymond Island website provide further information about this subject.
Kate McKinnon and Jack Pearce
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