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Flood support

Preparing for floods in Australia

Significant floods occur in parts of Australia each year even though it’s a dry continent and often affected by serious drought. These floods can cause extensive damage and, sadly, fatalities. But you can act before, during and after a flood to mitigate the impact on your home and family. When floods occur, your family’s safety comes first. Contact 000 in any emergency, or your local state emergency service.

At Allianz, we’ve been helping Australians get back on their feet after adverse events for over 100 years. We offer cover for a range of insured events, and if available, flood can be added as an optional cover to your Home or Landlord policy. Please note, a 72 hour exclusion period may apply. For full details about what is and isn’t covered, check your Product Disclosure Statement (PDS), Policy Schedule or Certificate of Insurance.

Precautions you can take ahead of floods

  • Evaluate your flood risk – find out if your home has ever been flooded, and find out from your local council or state emergency service if you live in a flood-prone area
  • Change your landscaping – trees and shrubs planted around your home can help mitigate erosion, slow down fast-flowing water and divert water away from your home
  • Draw up a home emergency plan that includes where you and your family will go if you must evacuate your home and how you’ll contact each other if separated
  • Keep a list of emergency telephone numbers within easy reach – local or state emergency services, police, ambulance, hospital, gas, and electricity – plus details of local relief centres and evacuation routes
  • Put together an “emergency pack” containing tinned food, a tin-opener, water, a first-aid kit, blankets, warm clothing, spare batteries, matches and gloves
  • Equip yourself with a battery-powered portable radio and torch so you can stay updated on power restoration and evacuation alerts if the power is cut
  • Gather sentimental, important, and valuable items, documents, and photos you can take with you should you need to evacuate – place them in waterproof bags

Precautions you can take as flooding threatens

  • Monitor weather forecasts and emergency alerts 
  • Carry your mobile phone with you 
  • Secure potentially hazardous items that could move around in floodwaters, such as outdoor furniture and fuel tanks 
  • Open gates so flood water can flow freely through them 
  • Move household and electrical items to a higher place 
  • Place furniture on beds and personal items on furniture 
  • Roof spaces can be used if they can support the weight of the items placed within
  • Remove wood drawers from built-ins, cabinets, and furniture – wood swells when wet 
  • Switch off utilities: electricity, gas, and water – disconnect electrical appliances 
  • Empty and leave open fridges and freezers to prevent floatation 
  • Install a sewage water backstop or place a strong plastic bag full of sand or earth in the toilet bowl and over drainage holes in the bathroom and laundry to prevent sewage from flowing back into your home 
  • Make sure doors and windows are shut tightly – you can seal doors and windows with plywood, plastic, silicon, or duct tape 
  • Seal the points around your home where water can get in, such as ventilation holes and basement entry points 
  • Place heavy-duty plastic around the base of your home on the outside, tape the plastic to the walls, and place sandbags on the plastic 
  • Don’t drive into floodwater and avoid driving at night
  • Don’t swim in floodwater

What to do after a flood

  • Return home only when authorities indicate that it’s safe
  • Wear rubber boots and rubber or leather gloves
  • Check for gas or water leaks
  • Check with electricity, gas, and water authorities to determine if supply has been interrupted or is safe to be turned on
  • Don’t switch on power and electrical appliances until they’ve been checked and approved for use
  • Clean and disinfect everything that got wet because it may be contaminated by sewage or chemicals in the floodwater
  • When cleaning, wear protective gloves and a mask
  • Don’t eat food that has been in floodwater because it may be contaminated
  • Don’t drink water straight from a tap until authorities declare it safe – until then, boil the water before drinking it
  • Take photos and record all damage in case the photos and records are needed to support insurance claims

How to lodge a claim

Our priority is your safety. Keep yourself and your family out of harm’s way until the danger is over. Then, when it’s safe to do so, contact us. Our claims team will be ready to help with enquiries and lodging claims to make sure you get quick, expert assistance and support. You don’t need your policy documents. We can locate these details for you.

If your property or motor vehicles are damaged because of cyclones*, flooding*, storms*, or bushfires*, it’s best to lodge a claim online to minimise delays. A consultant will contact you as soon as possible. Otherwise, call us on 13 10 13, or contact your broker.

* We don’t provide cover for any loss of or damage to your property caused by cyclone, flood, grassfires and bushfires during the first 72 hours after you first purchase a policy or increase your cover under an existing policy. For full details of conditions and exclusions please refer to the relevant PDS.

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Allianz acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we live and work across Australia. We pay our respect to First Nations Elders past and present.



Any advice here does not take into account your individual objectives, financial situation or needs. Terms, conditions, limits, and exclusions apply. Before making a decision about this insurance, consider the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (PDS)/Policy Wording and Supplementary PDS (if applicable). Where applicable, the PDS/Policy Wording, Supplementary PDS and Target Market Determination (TMD) for this insurance are available on this website. We do not provide any form of advice if you call us to enquire about or purchase a product.

Allianz Australia Insurance Limited ABN 15 000 122 850 AFS Licence No. 234708 is the insurer of any general insurance products offered, and Allianz Australia Life Insurance Limited ABN 27 076 033 782 AFS Licence No. 296559 is the insurer of any life insurance products offered. Each entity is responsible for any statements and representations made about its products, on this website.