The Queensland government has reaffirmed its commitment to helping Queenslanders who took a hit from the recent catastrophic flooding in the state by announcing a new flood recovery package.
The local government said it will provide over $700 million via a Resilient Residential Recovery Package for residents whose homes had been severely damaged by flooding, with a range of options that may include retrofitting, house raising, or the voluntary buy-back of homes at high risk from future floods.
Suncorp Group (Suncorp), which has been helping flood-affected residents and communities in Queensland and New South Wales (NSW), has welcomed the Queensland government's announcement.
“This investment will help build resilience into Queensland homes devastated by recent flooding. [It] is a positive step, and we all must keep working together to protect homes and communities from the impacts of extreme weather,” said Suncorp CEO Steve Johnston.
To date, Suncorp has received over 38,000 claims from the recent floods and storms across its brands, including over 17,000 home insurance claims in Queensland. In addition, it has deployed its teams across the country to provide extra support to flood-affected customers and ensure they get back on their feet as quickly as possible.
Johnston stated that the insurance giant will recruit more than 600 extra people to speed up the recovery process, including leaders in disaster response and event claims, event response coordinators, claims managers, and customer service specialists.
“We're expanding our teams right across the country, providing extra support to our customers affected by the floods and ensuring they get back on their feet as quickly as possible,” he said.
Suncorp also has a four-point plan that includes further investment to improve public infrastructure, planning laws, building codes, approval processes, and the remove inefficient taxes and charges from insurance premiums.
“As an insurer, we also have a role to play,” Johnston said. “Our insurance products are designed to help severely impacted customers, with Suncorp Insurance customers having access to our build it back better product feature and GIO customers our safety net.”
