Work to improve the availability and understanding of flood cover appears to be paying off, with the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) receiving few complaints after January’s floods in Queensland.

The inclusion of flood cover in home policies, greater consumer awareness and a more proactive approach from insurers have helped prevent a repeat of the 2011 disputes, which led to a series of inquiries into insurance and natural disasters, according to General Insurance Ombudsman John Price.

It is still early days but FOS would have expected more complaints by now if any serious issues had arisen following Cyclone Oswald, Mr Price told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

FOS has only 10 matters relating to the January event open at the acceptance stage.

The next six months may see more disputes lodged “but the indications are at this stage that it is not going to be significant. Consumers and the insurance industry are more aware.”

Consumers are more informed about flood cover because they either have it now or have opted out, and customer advocates can provide better advice from all they have learnt since 2011.

Insurers are more aware of issues affecting their disaster responses and more likely to prevent disputes, Mr Price says.

Flooding in early 2011, particularly in Queensland, prompted complaints that consumers were not clearly informed about cover and about policy exclusions and hydrology reports.

By December of that year, FOS had received about 1000 flood-related complaints, with 400 awaiting a determination.