The controversial proposal to make flood cover mandatory will come under the microscope next month as the Natural Disaster Insurance Review (NDIR) panel takes part in two information seminars in Sydney and Melbourne.

Earlier this month the panel released its issues paper into the options for flood cover in Australia after it was charged with examining the availability and affordability of insurance with an emphasis on flood by the Assistant Treasurer Bill Shorten on March 4. Submissions in response to the issues paper are due by July 14.

The NDIR panel, chaired by John Trowbridge, will hold a morning seminar on July 6 in Sydney, in conjunction with the Institute of Actuaries of Australia and the Insurance Council of Australia.

Mr Trowbridge will provide an overview of the issues paper, with responses from the two host organisations and a consumer representative. This will be followed by an open discussion session with Mr Trowbridge and panel members Jim Minto and John Berrill.

In Melbourne, the Australian Centre for Financial Studies (ACFS) will hold an evening seminar on July 12, with a presentation by Mr Trowbridge followed by another on dealing with disasters from Professor John Freebairn of the Department of Economics at Melbourne University, and a panel discussion featuring Acorn Capital Chairman Professor Bob Officer, and other, as yet un-named panellists. An open forum and review by Mr Trowbridge will follow.

The ACFS says the NDIR panel wants to “draw out additional perspectives” at the seminar, in particular looking to examine the extent to which the level of non-insurance and underinsurance for household contents should be of concern to the community and governments, and what level of responsibility lending institutions have toward their home mortgage customers for the cost, coverage, quantum and continuity of insurance during the life of the mortgage.

The NDIR panel’s issues paper has identified three alternative models to improve access to flood cover for home insurance.

The options are: for flood cover to be automatically included in all home insurance policies; for flood cover to be automatically included in all home insurance policies but giving homeowners the option of opting out of flood cover; or retaining the status quo where insurers can choose whether or not to offer flood cover and homeowners can choose whether or not to buy it.

The issues paper also considers non-insurance and underinsurance, consumer awareness and insurance dispute resolution, flood risk measurement and mitigation, and some aspects of government funding of natural disaster relief and recovery.