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State Should Help Flood Insurance ‘Victims’  Picsearch.com Eastern Victoria MP Peter Hall has called on the State Government to come to the aid of a group of Newry residents, whose insurance company was one of the few to knock back claims from the June floods. By Peter Hall - 14th August 2007 - Back to News While most insurance companies have honoured claims, including the RACV, Alliance, APIA, Wesfarmers and Elders, by classifying the damage as storm related and not flood related, at least one other has rejected its clients’ claims.
Mr Hall said today the important issue was that people in need received appropriate assistance.
"The rights and wrongs of the insurance industry are another separate issue, and I’m sure people will vote with their feet on that," Mr Hall said. "But the immediate issue is to help people get on with their lives and that’s where the Government needs to step in."
Mr Hall raised the matter in Parliament yesterday (Thursday 9 August), when he called for the State to provide compensation to those people who have had insurance claims rejected.
"The basis for the rejection appears to be based on an assessment of whether water damage was flooding caused by local storms or flooding caused by a natural watercourse breaking its banks," Mr Hall said.
"I put to the house tonight and to the chair of the flood recovery task force (Mr Brumby, now Premier) that there is a strong argument that flooding in the Newry and Tinamba area at least was influenced by the actions taken by the Victorian government over time.
"One of those actions was the construction of Glenmaggie Weir itself. Indeed there is a strong argument that, had not Glenmaggie been there, the water would have flowed through that particular area following the natural course of the Macalister River and not hit the downstream towns of Newry and Tinamba from Glenmaggie with the force that it did and which caused the damage.
"There was also a failure of flood-warning systems higher up, north of the Glenmaggie Weir. The people I have had some contact with have insured their properties, but have missed out on any form of compensatory payment by virtue of the insurance company that they chose to do business with."
Mr Hall said the justification for the request was that the actions of Government over a period of time had contributed, at least in part, to the severity and to the extent of the damage incurred to the property of these people.
"I acknowledge that the government has already pledged something in the order of $60 million to assist in the flood recovery effort. I was one of the first to acknowledge and to thank the government for that effort.
"I believe that the measure I am requesting would probably cost in the order of another
$500 000, which is a small amount in terms of the total flood package.
"The cost to government would be small, but the benefit to those who have had insurance claims knocked back would be most significant and appreciated."
Source: http://gippsland.com/ Published by: news@gippsland.com
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