00:03On the banks of the Boulogne River is Adam Osborne's little piece of paradise.
00:08It's bloody second to none living out somewhere like this.
00:12The river is the lifeblood of St George, a six hour drive west of Brisbane.
00:17But the Boulogne is flood prone.
00:22And that's caused insurance premiums in the town to surge, for some up nearly 500% in the past few
00:30years.
00:31It's just got to the point where it's ridiculous.
00:33Adam Osborne was quoted a staggering $60,000 for his home insurance this year.
00:38It's a wage, effectively isn't it, for one of us in the household,
00:42so that makes it very difficult to live, especially with the cost of living these days.
00:45You can accept, you know, a couple of hundred dollars each year,
00:50but when it's into the thousands, it makes an impact.
00:54I often get told that now people's insurance payments are greater than their mortgage,
00:59so it's really staggering.
01:00Many councils across southwest Queensland have put in levies,
01:04like the one I'm standing on here in St George,
01:06to stop swollen catchments from spilling into town.
01:09These mitigation measures have cost council millions of dollars,
01:13but residents say insurers haven't taken that reduced risk into account.
01:18I think they're deaf to the hurt that's happening in the communities.
01:22The insurance council says any risk reduction measures that have been implemented,
01:27such as levies, are taken into account when pricing premiums.
01:31It also cites a 40% rise in construction costs since 2020.
01:37But councils are sceptical.
01:39Obviously there's inflation and other things,
01:41but we firmly believe there's a bit of price gouging in the market.
01:44Samantha O'Toole says years of negotiation with major insurers have gone nowhere.
01:50It's a bit like banging your head against the wall.
01:52Now, six southwest councils have teamed up to take the bold step of becoming insurers themselves.
01:58We've started to think creatively, you know,
02:00what are the other solutions that are out in the market,
02:02hence the idea of a community protection mutual.
02:04The idea is that the premiums of the many pay for the losses of the few.
02:09Paula Jasapkoski has worked in the global insurance sector for years
02:13and says mutualisation is becoming a more attractive option.
02:18But she warns it's not a silver bullet.
02:21They're not going to be able to push the price down
02:23because they're facing the same type of risk and the same level of risk.
02:29While they wait for a feasibility study,
02:32residents are hopeful the plan could help them keep their heads above water.
02:36We're not millionaires out here.
02:38We're people in the bush just doing our best
02:40and it's just another hurdle for us in a rural remote community.
02:43We're happy for the region.
02:46We're happy for the region.
02:48We're happy.
02:48humans can be different.
02:48We're happy.
02:48Have you...
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