Insurance unaffordable for flooded north Queensland homes almost two years on

Michelle Yates has still not finished rebuilding her kitchen or replacing water-damaged floors in her farmhouse near Ingham, after a 15-month payout negotiation with her insurer and ongoing trades shortages slowed the recovery. Now, as another wet season approaches, she has no insurance at all. "Sure Insurance cancelled our policy altogether because we were flooded," Ms Yates said. She is searching for an affordable alternative but has been quoted $28,000 for a year.

The 2025 north Queensland floods generated $327 million in insured losses. About two years on, non-renewal notices from Sure Insurance, viewed by the ABC, stated that the company had changed its underwriting guidelines and would not offer insurance if a property made a flood claim in the past five years or had a risk of damage in a one-in-20-year flood. A spokesperson for Sure Insurance said the company provided cover to one in four insured Ingham properties and that underwriting guidelines were reviewed regularly “to determine our ability to provide ongoing cover at a price that is fair”.

Ingham-based insurance broker Kieran Volpe said some providers were not offering cover to high-risk properties while others "priced themselves out". He reported seeing quotes of $10,000, $15,000 or even $20,000 for homes in high-risk flood areas. "People just can't afford it, so people are going without," he said.

Matthew Porter bought a home in Ingham after the 2025 floods, knowing it had suffered superficial flood damage in the lower level. When his Allianz insurance was due for renewal this year, the premium increased by 72 per cent. He said he had stayed with the policy but found the increase "ridiculous". A spokesperson for Allianz said the frequency and severity of weather events in Ingham had increased in recent years and so had the cost of claims. "Premiums must reflect the genuine cost of insuring a property against these risks to ensure we can continue to pay claims when customers need us most," they said.

The Insurance Council of Australia said insurance remained available in Ingham, but in areas exposed to repeated, severe flooding, premiums would reflect that risk. A spokesperson said the most effective way to bring premiums down was to reduce the underlying risk through greater investment in flood defences, house raising and more resilient homes. The council said it remained involved in individual claims discussions from the 2025 floods and that trades shortages and steep cost increases had delayed recovery.

Hinchinbrook Shire Council released new data from a community survey that heard from 305 respondents. The council said 77 per cent of respondents were struggling to afford their premiums. Mayor Ramon Jayo said there has been market failure and called on governments to look closely at the high cost of premiums.