Opinion

Queensland farmers need reliable and affordable insurance options

By Allan Dingle, Queensland Farmers' Federation President
Updated May 5 2021 - 10:05am, first published 9:41am
Queensland farmers need reliable and affordable insurance options
Queensland farmers need reliable and affordable insurance options

This week, the Australian government announced a reinsurance pool backed by a $10 billion government guarantee to subsidise the cost of insurance coverage for people living in flood and cyclone-prone areas of northern Australia. The pilot program is expected to reduce premiums by more than $1.5 billion for households, strata and small businesses over 10 years. This investment comes after the final report of the ACCC's three-year Northern Australia Insurance Inquiry, released in January, highlighted insurance premiums were, on average, considerably higher in northern Australia than the rest of the country, and over the past decade have increased at a faster rate. Queensland farmers are unfortunately no strangers to natural disasters and weather extremes, however they are ineligible for this subsidy and remain exposed by the nascent agriculture insurance market.

Get the latest QLD news in your inbox

Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date.

We care about the protection of your data. Read our Privacy Policy.