Regulations accompanying the Insurance Contracts Amendment Act are expected to take effect in the next few weeks.

A spokesman for Finance Minister Bill Shorten told insuranceNEWS.com.au the regulations are being finalised to contain the standard flood definition and the template for key facts sheets.

There will be a two-year transition period.

“It is expected that many insurers will comply with the regulations during the transitional period,” the spokesman said.

“This already can be seen in relation to the standard definition of flood where a number of insurers have started adopting the Government’s preferred definition of flood.”

Treasury conducted consumer testing on prototype key facts sheets in May.

The spokesman says the Federal Government has invested more than $5.9 billion in Queensland to help communities recover from last year’s floods, including $950 million for the region affected by Cyclone Yasi.

“In addition, we’ve provided $500 million through the flood levy to assist with Victoria’s reconstruction,” she said. “The issue of a standard definition of flood has been around for decades and it has taken this Government to do something about it.”