The Assistant Treasurer, Bill Shorten, welcomed today's announcement by the RACQ that it will be providing a $20 million package towards Queensland flood victims, while calling on insurers to follow their lead.
"By providing $10 million in funding for compassionate payments to RACQ policy holders who don't have flood coverage, in addition to a $10 million donation to flood charities, RACQ has shown what a great corporate citizen it is," Mr Shorten said.
The package will comprise two elements:
$10 million to RACQ policy holders who did not hold flood cover but who suffered flood damage.
$10 million to be divided between the Queensland Premier's Disaster Relief Appeal and an RACQ charitable foundation.
"Australia's insurance industry has a very positive record of assisting communities after natural disasters and I commend RACQ for keeping that tradition alive. I believe all insurers should show as much compassion and flexibility in dealing with individuals affected by the floods," Minister Shorten said.
"The payments that will be made as part of this package will help people to rebuild their houses and will be a critical part of the recovery process for many families and communities."
"RACQ currently has approximately 20 per cent of the Queensland home insurance market, so today's announcement will benefit a substantial number of householders."
"After today's announcement, over half of the market in Queensland will either have flood coverage or will receive some form of assistance from their insurers. The proportion of people who receive assistance could be even higher if insurers also provide some form of compassionate support."
The Commonwealth Government has paid out more than $305 million in disaster assistance to people affected by the floods. More than 245,000 claims for the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment have been made, while just over 19,000 claims of the Commonwealth's Disaster Income Recovery Subsidy have been processed.
This is the first stage in the billions of dollars the Commonwealth will provide to help communities recover from the floods crisis.
"RACQ has indicated a willingness to engage with Government in a timely fashion and I commend it for that."
"This move gives me confidence a private sector solution may well exist for insurance reform," Mr Shorten said.
For more information about Commonwealth assistance for people impacted by flooding, visit www.disasterassist.gov.au