Flood devastated homes uninsurable or too costly to insure as climate risk rises

The devastating floods in northern New South Wales have exposed the brutal reality that many properties are now either uninsurable or simply too costly to insure.

Experts who assess the risk for major banks and insurers also warn that many state and local government flood maps are now out of date and don't include climate change where flood disasters are likely to become more common.

Dr Karl Mallon chief executive of the consultancy Climate Valuation has a database of flood risk for every house in Australia and he warns 350,000 houses are on the cusp of becoming uninsurable.