The federal parliamentary inquiry into insurers’ handling of 2022 flood claims will travel to northern Queensland later this month to gain input on communities’ experiences after more recent disasters.

Hearings will take place at the Cairns RSL Club on July 24 and the Townsville RSL on July 25, with event programs to be posted closer to the time.

Invitations have been issued to councils, business associations and community groups. Other organisations and individuals are invited to express their interest if they want to give evidence.

Inquiry committee chairman Daniel Mulino says MPs hope to learn from northern communities’ claims experiences following recent disasters including cyclones.

“We are also interested in evidence of any improvements by the insurance industry since the Deloitte report on insurers’ responses to the 2022 floods and the related 2023 Australian Securities and Investments Commission report on claims handling,” he said today.

The Deloitte report was commissioned by the Insurance Council of Australia following the record flooding in southeast Queensland and northern NSW two years ago, while the ASIC report outlined areas for improvement after a review of home insurance claims.

The committee will visit Devonport in Tasmania next Wednesday and its final public hearing will be held online in late July, when expert and state government bodies are expected to give evidence.

Since January, the committee has held 19 public hearings, including in Canberra, southeast Queensland, northern NSW, western Sydney, regional Victoria and Melbourne. An online survey, completed by more than 600 people, remains open until the end of this month.

Findings from the inquiry, conducted by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics, are due by October 18, revised from a previous September 30 deadline.

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