Parliamentary Hearings on Strata Title Insurance

Federal Parliamentary Inquiry hearings concerning the price rises for residential strata title insurance began in Cairns on Tuesday and will also be held in Townsville and Mackay in coming days.

Property owners affected by the rising costs have been called to present cases and representatives from the big three insurers in the Far North will also be in attendance to defend the rises experienced.

The hearing in Cairns on Tuesday was covered by ABC News and The Cairns Post - both publications printed the following articles on Wednesday:

'If the risk's high, the premiums will match, say insurance companies in FNQ'
The Cairns Post - Wednesday February 1, 2012

THE region's largest insurer has defended itself against growing community anger over price hikes, saying as long as councils allow development in high-risk areas, premiums will remain high.

During a tour of the Far North yesterday, Suncorp Personal Insurance CEO Mark Milliner said: "As long as councils continue to approve building works in these high-risk areas, which are cyclone and flood prone, then the inherent risk is high and the premiums will match."

Cairns Mayor Val Schier said insurance companies should not try to pass the buck on to councils.

"I actually think that the insurance companies are making excuses," she said.

Suncorp, including brands such as AAMI and GIO, ranks as one of the nation’s biggest insurers and has paid out more than $4 billion over the past year for claims from cyclone Yasi to the Christchurch earthquake in New Zealand.

In that period, the company has put up insurance costs by an average of 10 per cent around Australia, while residents in cyclone Yasi ravaged Cardwell and Hull Heads have reported rises of up to 30 per cent from Suncorp and other companies.

Mr Milliner said mitigating the risks was the only way of keeping premiums down for individuals in the long term.

He said councils needed to stop approving building applications in areas prone to cyclones and storm surges.

"We bottle insurance and price it according to the risk of each individual house," he said.

"I have always said the way to keep premiums down is to mitigate that risk – whether that is local councils stepping up and saying no to building applications in at-risk areas or if it is the State Government building dams to temper the flooding.

Suncorp Personal Insurance CEO Mark Milliner said as long as councils approve building works in high-risk areas – such as the cyclone Yasi devastated Tully Heads – homeowners will pay the price. Picture: MARC McCORMACK

"In the long run it will be mitigation that will keep the premiums from rising – if people continue to choose to live in high risk areas, they will have to pay high premiums."

When asked about building in areas like cyclone-hit Tully Heads, Hull Heads and the proposed development at Taylor Point, near Trinity Beach, Mr Milliner said the company had to cover the risk costs.

"One thing is for certain, the Far North will have another cyclone and when that happens our costs go up.

"As a business, we have to be able to pass on those costs to our customers, who are at risk and who will most likely claim from us.

"I think that is reasonable.

"If houses are built properly in lower risk areas, the premiums will be lower; it is simple.’’

'Insurers defend strata title costs'

ABC News - Wednesday February 1, 2012

Insurers have defended price rises for residential strata title insurance in north Queensland at a federal parliamentary inquiry.

A House of Representatives Committee began hearing evidence in Cairns yesterday and will head to Townsville tomorrow.

It is due to report in April on what has led to significant increases in insurance costs in recent years and whether the Government should intervene.

About 200 property owners attended the Cairns hearing yesterday afternoon.

All were angry at the massive jump in premiums and excess quotes for their units and apartments in the past few years.

They called for a 12-month moratorium on premiums and the establishment of a government-backed insurance company for Queensland, similar to the Territory Insurance Office.

Zurich Insurance spokesman Shaun Feely told the inquiry, prices had to go up to ensure future natural disasters could be covered.

"We've been operating in strata insurance for five years in north Queensland," he said.

"For every $100 we've collected, we've paid out $115."

The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) says the State Government could have an immediate impact on premiums by removing GST and stamp duty.

ICA chief executive officer Robert Whelan says affordability is a crucial concern, but there are options to reduce the cost.

"An increased excess will reduce the premium but it also reduces the claims which continues to feed back into premiums," he said.

"We think they are practical ways of actually assisting people to be able to affect insurance in an affordable way and they're things that we could do virtually immediately.

The Unit Owners Association of Queensland (UOAQ) is calling for a freeze on strata title insurance premiums.

UOAQ spokesman Andrew Hayes says more competition is needed, with only one insurer - CGU - offering new policies north of Rockhampton for unit complexes over $5 million.

"We could put a moratorium in in the spirit of the issue not to put residential owners in more hardship until we actually can consider a model that is appropriate for the needs up here," he said.

"The point being is that it's all about being reasonable - these increases aren't reasonable."

Mr Hayes has told the inquiry the Government should consider allowing premiums to become tax deductable.

Cairns property owner Helen Reed says she rejects the insurance industry's claim that high premiums are a reflection of a building's age, structure and claims history.

"We have actually a house in Redlynch as well as a unit in Parramatta Park and we're paying more for our insurance in our unit, which is a smaller area," she said.

"The one in Redlynch actually included our contents as well so it's not risk-based as the insurance companies lead you to believe.

"Our building is only four years old, has no insurance claims whatsoever and it's gone from $3,000 insurance up to $16,000."

Peter Musso - Ray White Cairns Beaches - Licensed real estate agent selling property in Trinity Beach, Kewarra Beach, Clifton Beach, Palm Cove, Trinity Park, Smithfield, Yorkeys Knob, Holloways Beach, Machans Beach.