Narrabri Shire in NSW has protested to the Insurance Council of Australia after home premiums in the town of Wee Waa increased by up to 400%, despite it having a levee that has prevented flooding for three decades.

“We have had a levee bank around the town since 1978,” shire councillor Ron Lowder told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

“It is designed to withstand a one-in-100-year event and has protected us all this time, and it should be taken into account when premiums are set.”

Several insurers offer home and contents cover in the town but premiums have soared after providers grew nervous following floods in surrounding regions, Cr Lowder says.

“We are not just talking about Wee Waa. There are other areas that don’t flood that are caught up in this.”

The council took out a loan to build the defences and levied residents. Cr Lowder says this in effect means they have already paid extra for mitigation.

The Insurance Council says insurers should take permanent flood defences into account when calculating premiums. It has urged the shire to provide flood mapping and data on Wee Waa for the national flood information database.

“This will help insurance companies more accurately assess the flood risk for individual properties, and insurers may take this information into account when calculating premiums,” a spokesman said.