LEICHHARDT MP Warren Entsch has thrown his support behind Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale in angrily rejecting the Insurance Council of Australia’s view that local governments ‘should have done more to prevent communities from flooding’.
Mr Entsch said the comments this week from ICA CEO Rob Whelan illustrate the organisation’s lack of understanding of the true role of insurance, as well as their desire to ‘pass the buck’ on who should pay for damage.
“I congratulate Paul for standing up to the ICA,” Mr Entsch said. “More and more people are now realising that the ICA is not doing the right thing by Australians. It’s clear that they’re only concerned with protecting the interests of the insurance companies.
“I’m putting these companies on notice that we will fight any attempt by them to use what is happening in SE and Central Queensland as an excuse to further jack up, or refuse us, insurance.”
Mr Entsch said he was also puzzled by reports that many people in southern Queensland still did not have flood cover as a component of their property insurance policy.
“Given that they’re now saying only a small percentage took up flood insurance, I find it quite bizarre that flood cover is still optional in those areas that are most affected,” he said.
“Yet in Far North Queensland, in areas that don’t flood and are unlikely to ever flood, it has been made compulsory and we pay a sizeable proportion of the premium for this.
“You have to ask, if southern Queensland is such a high risk, why the hell didn’t they make it compulsory down there? To me it shows the true nature of the insurance companies.”
Mr Entsch is putting a submission into the Coalition Policy Development Committee on insurance at the end of this week, with members likely to meet during next week’s Parliamentary sitting week in Canberra.
“I want to reinforce our commitment to developing policy that will make a real difference to property owners struggling to access affordable insurance in Queensland,” he ended.