The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has expressed support for the Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation’s decision to offer 1,100 home buybacks, calling the move a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to relocate residents out of high-risk areas and mitigate the impact of floods.
In its statement, ICA commended the decision to prioritise home buybacks in areas “which pose the greatest risk of life,” such as Ballina, Byron, Clarence Valley, Kyogle, Lismore, Richmond Valley, and the Tweed local government areas.
Part of the $800 million Resilience Homes Program, the buybacks will also see an additional 340 homes being raised above the flood-line or retrofitted to withstand extreme weather conditions.
“This is a historic step for the Northern Rivers region, as it will significantly improve community resilience and protect homeowners exposed to flood risk,” said ICA CEO Andrew Hall. “Managing and reducing risk in areas most susceptible to flooding is paramount, and we must continue making bold decisions to permanently move people away from harm’s way while investing in strengthening community resilience.”
Last year’s flooding in South-East Queensland and Northern NSW marked Australia’s most significant insurance event to date, according to the ICA, resulting in 241,000 claims and costing nearly $6 billion.
Since the February/March disaster, affected communities in the Northern Rivers have received almost $920 million from 14,660 insurance claims.
Furthermore, the average cost of claims for affected homes in the region was approximately $73,000. This is three times higher than the average claim cost for the entire event, which stood at $22,800.
Considering these figures, the ICA has urged all levels of government to reassess land use planning for communities vulnerable to extreme weather risks.
“The scale and impact of last year’s flood will never be forgotten, so we must use this as a lesson and set a new precedent for how quickly governments can respond in making decisions to benefit communities,” said Hall.
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