Australia News Live: Flood Claims & Nationals Leadership
New south wales Premier Chris Minns is taking decisive action, vowing to pressure insurance companies for quicker flood insurance claim payouts. This comes after a call for a $30 billion flood defense fund from the Insurance Council,a proposal on which Minns has clarified his stance.He highlights unacceptable delays in past settlements, citing instances were families waited years for 2021 flood claims to be processed.Minns is resolute: insurers must fulfill their obligations promptly. He plans to “put the heat on” insurers, ensuring they honor claims expeditiously. Delays are over. This is a critical update for all Australians. News Directory 3 is on the story. Discover what’s next for flood victims and the insurance industry.
Minns to Pressure Insurers for Faster Flood Claim Payouts
Updated May 28, 2025
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said he intends to pressure insurance companies to expedite payouts for flood insurance claims. Minns addressed the issue after the Insurance council called for a $30 billion flood defense fund.
Speaking on ABC Radio National, Minns acknowledged the significant sum requested by the Insurance Council. he emphasized that while he aims to collaborate with the council, he disagrees with their proposal to have the federal and state governments contribute $30 billion early in the wake of natural disasters, especially when policyholders have long-term coverage.
Minns stressed that all parties must contribute to resolving the issue, including insurance companies fulfilling their obligations by processing claims promptly. He cited instances of families and businesses in Tari who only received settlements for 2021 flood claims three months prior,deeming such delays unacceptable. The premier vowed to “put the heat” on insurers to ensure they honour claims efficiently.
Well,that’s a lot of money. I’d have to examine the details.
Look, we work with the Insurance Council, and I’m not going to come on your program and thump them, but I do have to say, I don’t think a solution to this from the Insurance Council is to say, early on in this natural disaster, ‘oh, we don’t think we can cover a lot of this, notwithstanding people having long term policies, the federal and state government should tip in $30bn.’
Everyone’s going to have to do their part … and that means insurance companies will have to step up and pay out claims quickly. And I don’t say that without evidence. I’ve spoken to families, family businesses in Tari who had settled flood claims from 2021 three months ago, and that is way, way too long for a policy to be honoured by insurance companies. And I’ll be putting the heat on them to make sure that they’re good on their claims.
What’s next
The NSW government is expected to engage in further discussions with the Insurance Council and individual insurance providers to establish clearer guidelines and expectations for timely flood claim resolutions. Further announcements are anticipated as the situation develops.