Sophie Mitropoulos, 61, a public servant from the Brisbane riverside suburb of Balmoral, has seen her insurance premium go from $1,189 to over $5,000 in just five years – including a staggering 54 per cent increase between 2022 and 2023.
These figures are consistent with industry data supplied to the ABC, which suggest that in the most flood-prone locations, rates for home insurance are normally set at roughly 4% of the home’s value, while contents insurance is broadly set at 13% of the total insured.
According to ABC News, Mitropoulos argues that because her property is constructed on stilts with nothing beneath, she should not be required to pay more just because other homes in the vicinity are more prone to flood damage.
“I think honestly it would be disastrous for lower income people and it would get to a point where we just cannot afford insurance at all,” Mitropoulos says.
“If I get flooded [in a house] on two-metre stilts, the whole suburb is under.”
Insurers and local communities alike are aware of which houses are most vulnerable to floods, and with enough effort and persistence, resulting property damage can, more often than not, be prevented.
Source: ABC News
