POSTCODE BLACKLIST
ACCC forum in Cairns hears about crippling cost of cover
ORDINARY Cairns residents have been financially devastated by insurance companies black-listing the 4870 postcode.
About 25 Far Northerners voiced their concerns with extreme home, strata and contents insurance costs to the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) in a community forum last night.
The main concern in the group was insurance companies refusing to insure houses in the 4870 postcode area. The postcode includes all of Cairns City, Redlynch, Earlville and Kamerunga, as well as about 20 other suburbs.
Stratford pensioner Doug Harper said he was at his wits’ end trying to pull together thousands of dollars each year for his insurance.
“I’ve spoken to three insurance companies who refused to insure the 4870 postcode,” he said. “In a tenyear period my insurance has gone up from $924 to $3501.
“When you’ve got rates, insurance, and electricity ... it becomes unsustainable.”
ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard said these were the cases her team was on the hunt for while travelling through North Queensland.
“We want underground stories. There’s clearly an issue here. We need to find a clear way through it,” she said.
“It appears there are less insurers, so we’re looking into why that is, what the barriers are for finding insurers and how to drive competition.”
She said this was a big issue that would take a long time to solve.
“We will be looking into this for a number of years. We’re determined to reduce insurance costs in Northern Australia,” she said.
Strata Community Association chief executive Erik Adriaanse said the people of North Queensland didn’t have years to wait for a solution.
“We support the ACCC inquiry into insurance premiums but if strata property owners have to sit through another three cyclone seasons before they can afford appropriate cover, the Federal Government risks leaving them to financial ruin if a cyclone does cross their path,” he said.
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