Throughout Australia’s history, floods have impacted the whole country. The eastern seaboard sees the majority of large floods. Over the past few years cold weather fronts and increased rainfall patterns have resulted in large amounts of annual rainfall occurring over a short period of time.
Floods are one of Australia’s most commonly occurring and costly natural disasters and can devastate infrastructure, agriculture, and communities, often leaving little response time.
What damage is common in a flood?
Whether it’s worrying about water damage to your home and the uncertainty of your living arrangements, or the safety of your family and community, experiencing a flood and its aftermath can be devastating. The first step to help you, your family, and your community to prepare for flood events is to understand the common risks. These may include:
Structural Damage
This is any damage that may occur to the main structure of the home, any load-bearing walls or frames that may have become weakened after a flood. Damage can be caused by debris such as trees, cars or sheds that may have been lifted and carried around by a flood.
Unseen Risks
During a flood your home or your belongings may have moved under the water, leaving potential submerged hazards, such as broken furniture, glass, or loose cords under the floodwaters.
Electrical Hazards
Floods can cause extensive damage to the electricity networks and even create electrical hazards such as live wire burns or electric shocks. Electrical equipment such as white goods, TVs and laptops that have gotten wet can also present a risk.
Contaminated Water
Pollutants such as liquid waste or sewage water can infiltrate into water supplies through floodwaters by carrying viruses, bacteria and parasites causing contamination by floodwater.
Mould
With any water damage, there is a high risk of mould developing within the property or within possessions such as carpets, bedding and mattresses that have come into contact with water.
It is important to understand your risks and avoid entering floodwater where possible. It is also crucial in situations of heavy rainfall to be conscious of your surroundings and stay alert on developing weather conditions. Being aware of the precautions you can take can keep your family safe and help you mitigate the impact of the flood on your property and belongings.
Allianz flood cover
While some areas are more prone to floods than others, you may still be at risk of flood damage to your home and contents regardless of where you live. It's important to understand what your insurer defines as flood and check that your Home or Landlord Insurance policy has the right level of cover for you.
Allianz has been helping Australians get back on their feet after adverse events for over 100 years. In response to the recent floods that have devastated Australia, new and renewing Allianz Home and Landlord Insurance policies effective from 14 January 2025 will include flood cover as standard.
Our updated Home and Landlord Insurance with flood cover as standard can cover you from1:
Loss or damage caused by:
- flood
- run-off
- flood water combined with run-off and/or rainwater
As well as loss or damage caused by or arising from the following (if it is caused directly by and occurs within 72 hours of a flood):
- soil movement
- erosion
- landslide
- mudslide
- subsidence
If you’re a renewing customer, you may not have flood cover included in your policy if:
- you previously opted out and met certain flood risk criteria
- we weren’t able to offer you flood cover
- we've agreed you can opt-out of flood cover as standard
If you’d like to find out whether your Home Insurance policy currently has Flood cover, you can log onto My Allianz to check your policy documentation or call us on 13 1000.
If you've been affected by a flood, you can make a claim for flood damage online, call our Claims Team on 13 10 13, or visit us at your local Recovery Centre. We'll need your policy details, but if you don't have them on hand, our team will be able to assist you with any details you're able to provide. If it's safe to do so, take as many photographs as possible of the damage sustained from the flood to assist in your claim.
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Disclaimer
This article has been prepared by Allianz Australia Insurance Limited ABN 15 000 122 850 AFSL234708 ("Allianz"). In some cases, information has been provided to us by third parties and while that information is believed to be accurate and reliable, its accuracy is not guaranteed in any way.
Any opinions expressed constitute our views at the time of issue and are subject to change. Neither Allianz, nor its employees or directors give any warranty of accuracy or accept responsibility for any loss or liability incurred by you in respect of any error, omission or misrepresentation in this article.
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*Conditions apply
- 72-hour exclusion period may apply
We may not provide cover for any loss of or damage to your property caused by cyclone, flood, flood water combined with run-off and/or rainwater, grassfires and bushfires during the first 72 hours after you first purchase a policy or increase your cover under an existing policy. Refer to PDS for when exclusion periods apply.
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