Insurers refusing to cover properties against flood should reconsider, General Insurance Claims Review Panel Chairman Peter Hardham says.

"A few companies are now providing flood cover, which begs the question, why don't they all provide it?" he told insuranceNEWS.com.au. "Disputes over flood are very difficult to resolve, and they take up a lot of our time."

Mr Hardham, who spoke at the CC09 Claims Convention in Sydney last week, recounted cases where expert evidence from hydrologists was disputed by people who had been on the scene when a property was inundated.

"That and the fact that insurers sometimes take different approaches to the same event - some say it was storm-related and others say it was flood - makes the whole thing very complex."

He says even though insurers who are offering flood cover have taken different approaches, the availability of cover "at a realistic price above the normal premium" - a strategy adopted recently by NRMA Insurance - is an acceptable solution.

"People in flood-prone areas can at least have the choice of whether to insure or not," he said. "The availability of flood cover provides some certainty.

"It would also substantially lower the number of flood-related disputes that cross my desk each year."