A case study of the Townsville floods disaster could help the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) with its ongoing inquiry into the north’s insurance affordability problem, the city council says.

Townsville City Council flagged the case study suggestion in its submission to the ACCC, which is expected to submit a second interim report to the Government by November 30.

The proposal has the support of the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA), according to the north Queensland city’s mayor Jenny Hill.

“Detailed data on the plight of the north on insurance is important to reduce the impact of insurance costs and shine a light on the shortcomings of the insurance industry,” Ms Hill said.

“That’s why the enormous impact of this year’s natural disaster and the experience of the city’s residents, both good and bad, is a prime opportunity for the ACCC to conduct a sub-regional case study on the city.

“Our submission puts forward the call for the ACCC to work with council, the community and the insurance industry to reduce the impact of insurance costs.

“As part of our broader recovery effort, the council is liaising with insurers, residents and ICA on the insurance industry’s response. In our discussion with ICA they have indicated their support for the case study.”

The council’s submission also calls for taxation reforms at the state and federal levels to improve premium affordability for residents in the north.

It wants state and federal taxes levied on the insured amount instead of insurers calculating the charge from premiums.

“Something has to be done about the inequity Townsville residents and our northern neighbours face on insurance costs compared to the rest of Australia,” Ms Hill said.

“Already the ACCC inquiry has confirmed that we are paying twice as much for insurance as people in other parts of the nation and that is simply unacceptable.

“We’re saying that the taxes should be levied on the insured amount rather than the insurers’ calculated premium, which is currently the case.

“As if paying double for our premiums isn’t bad enough, the problem is compounded by the fact that the state and federal governments also apply stamp duty and GST on top of this. Why should the north pay double the tax on our insurance?”