A public hearing into insurers’ responses to the 2022 flood was held in Lismore last Thursday, with one local insurance brokerage business owner describing the compact that exists between insurers and society as ‘broken’.
The panel heard from the north coast business and community groups, and the local government sector.
Matt Williamson made representations on behalf of the Byron Bay Chamber of Commerce as its president, and also as the owner of insurance broking business, Good Cover.
The Business Pack policy
Williamson’s speech highlighted that ‘by far the most common form of property insurance’ for small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) is the Business Pack policy.
‘It applies to business with less than $10 million in asset value’.
He said, ‘The Business Pack policy is ubiquitous, and frankly largely unchanged in its form since federation in 1901’.
Williamson suggests improving flood cover in the Business Pack policies as the first step. ‘Second is liberating the knowledge that insurers have, and allowing that knowledge to, in a very practical way, inform both the community and government’.
Businesses just want to start trading again
After the 2022 floods, he says, ‘Time and time again, I saw businesses that just wanted to start trading again. Not perfect trading… but just trading’.
He added that there is often ‘huge economic uplift’ after floods, ‘but the irony is that local businesses can’t take advantage because they can’t trade’.
Williamson suggests increasing insurance excesses and co-contributions, for ‘whatever amount is practical and agreed’.
