Downunder Voices Original2 November 2026
Almost two years after devastating floods in north Queensland, homeowners are still wrestling with a problem that should have been settled in the immediate aftermath: insurance. Reporting shows many families in the affected areas cannot obtain or afford home insurance as they try to recover. That simple fact ought to alarm us all. A functioning insurance market is not a luxury for those who own property; it is a practical pillar of community resilience, the mechanism that helps households rebuild, restores confidence in local economies and underpins lending and investment.
For residents of places like Ingham and the shires of Hinchinbrook, the flood’s physical damage has been compounded by the financial and psychological toll of not being able to insure their homes. When insurers withdraw from a market or quote sums that are simply unaffordable, people are left with stark choices: remain in damaged properties without cover, sell at a big loss, or move away. Each option erodes the social fabric and economic base of towns already stretched by the costs of cleanup, lost work and fragile local services.
This is not just a problem for flood-affected homeowners; it is a problem for every Australian. Towns that lose residents lose shops, schools and services, and that makes recovery from natural disaster a self-perpetuating downward spiral. Lenders grow wary, property values fall, and council rates rise to cover shrinking ratepayer bases. The broader economy suffers when regional communities are hollowed out.
Fixing the problem means addressing both the immediate and structural issues. In the short term, governments and insurers must find practical ways to keep people covered. That might include targeted subsidies for the most vulnerable, clearer reinsurance arrangements that reduce the cost pressure on local insurers, or temporary backstops so that rebuilding can proceed while longer-term solutions are developed. For homeowners, certainty matters as much as money: clarity about what is covered, how premiums will change and what support exists for those who cannot get private cover.
Longer term, Australia has to confront honest conversations about how we underwrite risk in a climate where extreme weather events are more frequent. That means better flood mapping, stronger building standards in high-risk areas, and transparent schemes that share risk between private insurers, reinsurers and the public sector without leaving ordinary people exposed. It also means integrating insurance policy into broader planning: if certain low-lying areas are repeatedly uninsurable, governments must be upfront about whether to invest in protection, to enable managed retreat, or to rethink development patterns.
None of these choices is easy. They involve trade-offs between current taxpayers, future beneficiaries and private industry. But what should be intolerable is leaving communities in limbo. Almost two years on, the fact that homeowners in north Queensland still cannot access or afford insurance shows the system has failed them. Fixing it should be a bipartisan, practical priority that recognises insurance is not a nicety: it is how Australians manage risk, rebuild their lives and keep regional economies alive.
Downunder Voices
