Wollongong City Council will vote tonight on a motion to make flood data available to the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA), amid concerns some residents pay higher premiums than necessary.

Councillor Greg Petty has proposed providing ICA with the latest flood study and a hydrological report, ending a practice of charging insurers a “very considerable fee” for access to the information.

ICA uses local government studies and reports in the National Flood Information Database, which is funded and managed by the industry, but it has a policy of not paying for council data.

Spokesman Campbell Fuller says flood data ensures accurate underwriting and helps insurers identify benefits from mitigation works, while providing important information for councils and the community.

“This isn’t information the insurance industry should be paying for – it should be readily available,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

A small number of councils remain reluctant to provide the information, but there has been a gradual improvement since the flooding in 2011, he says.

“It is fair to say that most local governments that have flood exposure in Australia have now shared their data with the Insurance Council.”

Woollongong is at the base of the Illawarra Escarpment, and in the past 50 years has experienced 30 floods classified as serious, severe or very severe, and three classified as extreme.