MAINTAINING A HOME
How to flood-proof your home
Aussies are no strangers to extreme weather events like flooding and the damage these events cause. That’s why we’re committed to researching ways to make homes more resilient.
One way to mitigate the effects of flooding is to build or renovate your home so that it’s more resilient – as Suncorp Insurance customer Christine Newsome did following the 2011 Brisbane floods.
Christine's story
In 2011, the Brisbane floods forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people. Three quarters of the local council areas were deemed disaster zones.
Christine Newsome’s home in Graceville was badly affected. Her property is a few hundred metres from the Brisbane River, and her home and possessions were significantly damaged. To make matters worse, her insurer at the time had sold her policy to a different company – and her new policy didn’t include flood cover.
'Somewhere in the bottom of the Brisbane River was the insurance document saying that I wasn't covered for flood. That was the last time I'd spoken to that particular insurance company,' Christine tells us. It was at this point that she became a Suncorp Insurance customer.
Unable to imagine living anywhere else, Christine worked with architect James Davidson to design a flood-resilient home.
It was heartbreaking. We lost a lot and I rang my insurance company and I'd been with them for 14 years I didn't know they'd sold my policy to a different company and lost the flood cover.
Somewhere in the bottom of the Brisbane River was the insurance documents saying that I wasn't covered for flood. That wasthe last time I've spoken to that particular insurance company.
So we chose to rebuild because before the flood it was worth twice as much as after the flood and the house is still essentially a good hardwood house so with the help of our architect we decided to redesign and lift the house.
The starting point is in a sense to realize that we can never control the amount of rain that's coming out of the sky and then started to think about strategies related to what what could we do here that could assist the homeowner if it ever happened again so they're able to live through it and then recover from it really easily.
So using materials that you could easily wash out: concrete floors and a polished concrete rendered block walls, cabinets that could be pulled out and put upstairs prior to an event, big doors in each room each room has two doors to it so again letting the water flow out, and open riser on the stair to assist the water to flow through, all hardwood timber, no cavity construction so there's nowhere for mold to get in, and grow.
Accepting water and living with water is the main kind of the point I suppose about the design. This is really a great example of a couple of our customers going the extra mile to ensure that their home is going to be more resilient in the future.
What we've been able to do was assess his property individually and it's actually led to a 40% reduction on their insurance premium and this is a great example of a home where we've been out a reassess and provide that extra relief for our customers because of the actions that they've taken. Really simply if we reduce the risk we reduce the premium.
The greatest challenge was seeing the future. It's no longer as terrifying as the previous version of this to be I know now we have considered all the outcomes and all of the things that would need to happen if it came again. I don't think I would want to live anywhere else.
Flood
For our policy purposes, “flood” means the covering of normally dry land by water that has escaped or been released from the normal confines of any of the following:
- A lake (whether or not it has been altered or modified).
- A river (whether or not it has been altered or modified).
- A creek (whether or not it has been altered or modified).
- Another natural watercourse (whether or not it has been altered or modified).
- A reservoir.
- A canal.
- A dam.
Limitations and exclusions apply. For more detail, please refer to the PDS.
Flood
For our policy purposes, “flood” means the covering of normally dry land by water that has escaped or been released from the normal confines of any of the following:
- A lake (whether or not it has been altered or modified).
- A river (whether or not it has been altered or modified).
- A creek (whether or not it has been altered or modified).
- Another natural watercourse (whether or not it has been altered or modified).
- A reservoir.
- A canal.
- A dam.
Limitations and exclusions apply. For more detail, please refer to the PDS.
How to design a flood-proof house
Christine's architect, James Davidson, has become influential in designing ‘flood acceptant' homes since the 2011 flood. James approaches projects with the belief that it's impossible to control the amount of rain that falls, so he considers strategies to assist homeowners in living through and recovering from potential flooding.
To create a home that is resilient to flooding, James selects materials that can tolerate water. ‘Accepting water and living with water is the main point about the design,' James says. For Christine's home, he selected polished concrete floors, rendered concrete walls and moveable cabinets that can be shifted to the second floor before heavy rain. There are also large doors in each room to allow water flow if necessary.
The redesign has helped Christine and her family to feel more secure.
Other tips for flood-proofing a new home include the following:
- Installing all sockets and appliances as high as possible.
- Including enough weep holes at the bottom of cavity walls to allow drainage.
- Choosing more resilient materials, such as core-filled blocks or single-skin polycarbonate, instead of materials like plasterboard.
- Using waterproof materials for cabinetry.
How to flood-proof an existing house
If you’re not building a new home, some of the flood-proofing strategies mentioned above may not be practical to implement — but there are still things you can do.
- Raise electrical switchboards and powerpoints to above flood level.
- Replace cabinetry with flood resistant materials.
- Raise appliances, such as your washing machine and dryer, to above flood level.
- Replace hollow core doors with solid core doors.
- Apply flood-resilient sealant to your tiled areas.
Of course, this is just a handful of ideas. Consider consulting an architect, builder or other qualified professional for suggestions tailored to your property.
Don't forget flood insurance coverage
Ensuring you have adequate flood cover is another way to stay prepared. Depending on your insurer, flood cover may be included in your home and contents insurance policy#. Suncorp's Home and Contents Insurance has three levels of cover, and each level automatically includes flood cover.
Get a Home & Contents Insurance quote
For more information on how to prepare for extreme weather-related flooding, download our Must-Have Flood Checklist. It's impossible to control the weather, but you can control how prepared you are.
What to do after a flood
Suncorp Insurance aims to make it as simple as possible for customers affected by flood to make their claim and access help.
Read more:
- Your flood recovery guide
- How to avoid water damage at home while you’re on holiday
- Resilience Road: Putting Queensland on the road to resilience
Insurance is issued by AAI Limited ABN 48 005 297 807 trading as Suncorp Insurance. Read the Product Disclosure Statement before buying this insurance. The Target Market Determination is also available. This advice has been prepared without taking into account your particular objectives, financial situation or needs, so you should consider whether it is appropriate for you before acting on it.
#We do not insure you for bushfire, storm, storm surge, flood or tsunami in the first 72 hours of your policy. Very limited exceptions apply. For full details refer to the PDS.
Actions or movements of the sea and storm surge are not covered (unless the storm surge damage occurs at the same time as damage caused by storm). Other exclusions apply.
The information is intended to be of general nature only. Subject to any rights you may have under any law, we do not accept any legal responsibility for any loss or damage, including loss of business or profits or any other indirect loss, incurred as a result of reliance upon the information. Please make your own enquiries.
