NSW Premier Chris Minns says insurers must respond rapidly to flood claims, as numbers continue to climb and the industry today opened a second hub to help policyholders.

Mr Minns, when asked about the Insurance Council of Australia’s proposal for a $30 billion flood defence fund, said it is “a lot of money” and it is early days in the natural disaster.  

“Everyone is going to have to do their part here and that means insurance companies will have to step up and pay out claims quickly,” he told Radio National Breakfast.

Mr Minns said he has spoken to Taree family businesses that settled flood claims from 2021 just three months ago.

“That is way, way too long for a policy to be honoured by insurance companies, and I will be putting the heat on them to make sure that they are good on their claims quickly.”

ICA said today claim numbers have risen to 7014 and it has insurance hubs open in Taree and Port Macquarie.

CEO Andrew Hall says face-to-face support during the claims process is important after a large-scale event, and the industry has invested in increasing service staff and sending resources to those affected. It will continue to direct support into the region over coming months, he adds.

Mr Hall has briefed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on insurers’ efforts.

“Right now, our focus is on helping those affected, but as we progress through the immediate recovery, we will remain committed to long-term solutions that lessen the impact of extreme weather,” he said.

Federal Financial Services Minister Daniel Mulino – who chaired the parliamentary inquiry into the 2022 floods – told the ABC that generally 90%-95% of claims are resolved within a year, but that still leaves many people affected for longer periods.

Dr Mulino said the inquiry called on insurers to better track claims that are taking a long time to resolve and to appoint a consumer advocate who will report such cases to the CEO and board.

“Ultimately, in my view, they should also be reporting those cases that last more than a year to [the corporate regulator],” he said.

Dr Mulino said many inquiry recommendations are being addressed through the General Insurance Code of Practice review, while measures that may take longer include standardising water damage definitions.

“There is no sense, for me, in confusion arising from different companies using different definitions,” he said. “That will take time, but there is the possibility of the insurers gravitating towards a standard definition in advance of that.”

Dr Mulino said progress on mitigation was made in the government’s previous term, and that work is continuing.

NSW has appointed former deputy police commissioner David Owens as recovery co-ordinator for the Hunter and Mid North Coast floods.

The state government yesterday reported at least 8406 damage assessments have been carried out. Some 1065 buildings have been deemed uninhabitable, including 632 homes, about 152 commercial and industrial properties, and more than 253 outbuildings.  

Repairs will probably bring some back to an inhabitable state, while at least 30 homes have been destroyed, it said.

About 10,000 properties still need assessing for safety, including homes, businesses and other infrastructure. Seven communities, or about 9000 people, were still isolated yesterday.

Mr Minns said the state is taking lessons from the Lismore floods as it looks to return people to their properties and considers sustainable solutions.

“Part of our planning challenge in NSW is to try to reduce the number of times this happens and that means not building on floodplains, not building communities in vulnerable areas, but it’s cold comfort if your house has just been inundated.”