ALLIANZ WELCOMES QUEENSLAND FLOOD PLANS

The Australian arm of European insurer Allianz has welcomed announcements from the Queensland administration in the past week that AUD50m ($45m) will be spent on flood mitigation work, but has warned that there were "potentially unrealistic expectations" about the effect that this could have on premiums. Allianz general manager for corporate affairs Nicholas Scholfield said that the money involved was very modest when compared with the size of the problem. He told insurance.com.au that “just because a levee is built does not mean premiums will just return to normal everywhere in that town", adding that “revised flood mapping needs to be carried out and incorporated into the Insurance Council of Australia’s National Flood Information Database". Projects recently announced include AUD1.8m for drainage upgrades in Toowoomba and almost AUD1m for levee and drainage systems in Laidley. More than AUD5.2m has been allocated to projects in Gympie; AUD2.4m will help pay for two levees in Bundaberg, and AUD500,000 will support construction of a levee and detention basin in Cairns.