The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has denied that a number of houses in Tasmania’s Blackmans Bay have become uninsurable because of climate change.

Kingborough Mayor Dean Winter said last week that properties in the beachside suburb are no longer insurable. He told ABC Radio Hobart that one insurer had declined to provide flood cover to a resident because her property, which meets all necessary building approvals, has a high risk of inundation.

But ICA says flood cover “is available for all properties” in Blackmans Bay, and insurers price each property according to its assessed flood risk.

“The risk of inundation in this area is reflected in the premium,” ICA spokesman Campbell Fuller told insuranceNEWS.com.au. “Householders can choose to shop around for policies and premiums that best meet their needs.”

Mr Winter was not available to comment when insuranceNEWS.com.au called his office today.

However, ICA praised the council’s efforts to strengthen its stormwater system after one-in-100-year and one-in-10-year floods hit the area last year. The council’s 2019/20 budget allocated almost $1 million for stormwater projects in Blackmans Bay.

Mr Fuller says Kingborough Council’s recognition of the impact that high-frequency inundation is having is “encouraging”. He says ICA supports the council’s intention to reduce risk through investing in mitigation works.

“Insurers will reassess the flood risk component of premiums where mitigation can be proven to reduce risks to individual properties and updated flood data is provided to the Insurance Council’s National Flood Information Database.