00:02Cairns retiree Cathy Pitt is used to the wet season, but the cost of a flood clean-up from three
00:08years ago has been a nasty, protracted experience.
00:11I just put it off a bit longer and then you put it off a bit longer and it costs
00:15even more.
00:16The Insurance Council has found since 2022 the cost of building a home has outpaced inflation, rising by almost 30
00:24per cent.
00:25It says higher costs are driving higher premiums.
00:29In states like Queensland where quite often it's severe storms that impact a home, those things that need replacing immediately
00:36are the things that are costing the most.
00:38Australia's repair bill topped $11.3 billion over the past five years and the rebuilding effort is stretching the construction
00:46sector.
00:47At a time when we should be building more homes and we know that, we're having to go backwards and
00:53rebuild existing homes.
00:54Queensland saw one of the steepest increases in building costs. It's 45 per cent more expensive to build a standard
01:01home here than it was five years ago.
01:04With her home uninsured, Cathy Pitt used about $160,000 of her superannuation to pay for repairs.
01:11I suppose I didn't believe it but I just had to pay it off in some way and lucky I
01:18had that money.
01:20The next wet season is just around the corner.
01:22The next wet season is just around the corner.
01:22The next wet season is just around the corner.
01:22The next wet season is just around the corner.
01:24The next wet season is just around the corner.
01:26The next wet season is just around the corner.
01:26The next wet season is just around the corner.
