Suncorp will cut up to 90% from property premiums in Roma next month thanks to the town’s new flood levee, with other parts of Queensland set to follow suit as defences are completed.

Personal Insurance CEO Mark Milliner says 90% of properties in Roma are now considered to have zero flood risk.

And savings will be better than anticipated thanks to more comprehensive information from the council about the levee and the threat to individual properties.

Mr Milliner says home insurance premiums will drop 45% on average and up to 90% in some cases.

Roma residents with Suncorp and Vero home cover will now pay an average of $1000 if they are protected by the levee and own a property on which the council has provided additional flood risk information.

The premium on a $400,000 home previously considered a major flood risk could fall $7000.

“I congratulate Maranoa Regional Council and Mayor Rob Loughnan on their sensible decision to invest in major flood mitigation for the Roma community,” Mr Milliner said. “Suncorp promised that if disaster risk levels came down, so will the price of insurance, and today we honour that commitment.”

A Suncorp spokesman told insuranceNEWS.com.au the council “was very collaborative in terms of the data it shared to enable us to reprice risk levels, and we look forward to working with other councils currently undertaking mitigation works to achieve similar outcomes”.

Premiums have already fallen about 30% in Charleville and 15% in St George after the construction of levees and other flood mitigation works.

Community Recovery and Resilience Minister David Crisafulli says more than 10 communities, including Maryborough and Mundubbera, will soon have levees under the Queensland Government’s multibillion-dollar rebuilding program following floods and cyclones in 2010/11.

A spokesman for Mr Crisafulli told insuranceNEWS.com.au stage one of the Roma levee is “90% finished” and levees are under way in areas such as Cairns and Mackay.

Mr Milliner says reducing risk is the only long-term solution to insurance affordability.

“We will continue to work with councils and governments right around Australia to encourage further investment in risk-reduction strategies, to help homeowners and residents.”