Few claims coming for Qld floods, as Katter wants dams
The underinsured status of farmers in Australia is also confirmed by the trickle-down claims to date from floods in north-west Queensland.
The Gulf State has been flooded in recent weeks, and tens of thousands of cattle are estimated to have been lost in flooded fields across the region.
The Australian Agricultural Corporation, Australia’s largest beef producer, is among the hardest hit, with three of its stations in the region – Carrum, Dalgonally and Canobie.
AACo told the exchange this week that it did not provide flood protection “in accordance with industry practice and in view of the prohibitive costs.”
Insurance workers contacted by AAP, who did not want to speak publicly, rejected the idea that it was standard for farmers to remain without flood protection.
But they acknowledged that many primary producers, both conglomerates and family farmers, were struggling to afford rising premiums and that many were self-insured.
The Australian Industry Council (ICA) confirmed to AAP that insurers have so far reported “minimal property damage” and “low loss figures” from this summer’s deluge.
“Significant farmland is often located on flatter land, which naturally increases exposure to flood events, and farming operations can be spread across large, diverse areas with diverse asset and risk profiles, making insuring comprehensive coverage complex,” an ICA spokesman told AAP.
“Typical farm package insurance policies do not cover live animals due to the mobility of stocks, difficulties in verification and valuation, and the biological risks involved.
“More generally, flood insurance costs are increasing across the country due to the frequency and severity of flood events, inflation in the construction and motor repair industries, and the increasing value of our assets.”
Local federal MP Bob Katter, a former insurer before embarking on a 51-year political career in the Queensland and Australian parliaments, said insurers were right to be wary of the risks.
“I had an insurance agency and it was quite lucrative,” he told AAP.
“I don’t like being stupid, and it would be stupid for me to go out and demand that insurance companies provide coverage.”
Mr Katter, a long-time advocate of public investment in his region, said a network of dams tapping some of Australia’s strongest rivers would reduce flooding and provide irrigation opportunities.
“The topography of Australia, the black soil in the midwest… it’s closing in and everything is blown away, creating massive flooding,” he said.
“We don’t have a single damn dam in a million square kilometres.
“It doesn’t cost a lot of money, and the damn thing will pay for itself in the first 10 years with the irrigation farms it will create.”
On Wednesday, Rural Aid announced a partnership with regional insurer WFI Insurance as it begins emergency hay distribution efforts to keep livestock alive.
“The delay so far has been road closures,” Rural Aid chief executive John Warlters told AAP.
“We also have a team of counselors to help with mental health and wellbeing, which is really important.”
