Australian Flood Insurance Rates Spiking After Record Floods In Recent Yrs - Rises Up To 500%

Thousands of Australians are facing soaring insurance premiums for flood cover, forcing many to ditch protection even as the risk of extreme weather increases.

Insurers blame the increases on the spate of flooding across much of eastern Australia in recent years - with another $733 million hit to insurers from January's big wet in Queensland and NSW - as well as improvements in flood mapping.

For Tina Taylor, the premium increase is steep for her hobby farm on the bank of the Colo River, a tributary of the flood-prone Hawkesbury River.

When insurer NRMA recently quadrupled her premium from $2000 to $8250, she was forced to drop flood cover. Other flood policyholders have faced increases of 500 per cent.

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http://www.smh.com.au/environment/water-issues/flood-cover-rises-to-unaffordable-levels-20130216-2ejvb.html