Aftermath: Rochester Newsagency was among the many businesses in Mackay, Gillies and Moore streets that suffered extreme damage from the flood event.
Rochester home owners and businesses are now counting the cost of the town’s biggest ever flood event as insurance companies descend on the town to complete assessments of the damage.
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No flood cover is offered to businesses in Australia, which means those flood-affected premises in Rochester have a significant cost attached to the recovery process.
Property assessments were commencing on homes as early as Monday, October 17 and, in some instances, owners had already been given the green light by insurance companies to commence repair works.
There is, however, an enormous gulf between the positive experiences of some home owners in Rochester and the dire situation several small businesses find themselves in, unable to even hold a policy for flood insurance.
Several Rochester businesses contacted by the Campaspe News last week in Rochester were beginning to assess how much it would cost them to reopen their doors.
Among those we spoke to was Rob Hosking from Ray White Real Estate, who said he expected a $50,000 bill to be attached to this flood event.
He said his business was insured for fire, vandalism and other associated incidents, but not flood damage.
"This is much worse than in 2011. That year we only required new carpets,“ he said.
Mr Hosking, who lives in Echuca and works in Rochester, said he had flood insurance on his home, which was on “higher ground’’; one of the reasons premiums were affordable.
Only a few doors away from the real estate agency, at Rochester pharmacy, the business has some insurance protection through a policy held by the Pharmacy Guild of Australia.
Under water: Flood waters engulf the Moore and Gillies street park, which is alongside the Rochester Bakery.
Home and contents insurance policies do not appear to have been taken up by a percentage of owners and renters in Rochester, either because of prohibitive insurance premiums offered by companies or based on historical records that flood waters were unlikely to impact their home.
Following last week’s flood event it appears as though shopping around and dealing with “on the ground’’ insurance agencies will be the way of the future for Rochester residents.
For the record, and for the future, it appears as though CommInsure and RACV Insurance, among others, offer reasonable premiums for flood insurance.
Government assistance will become an important part of the recovery, with packages ranging from $580 to $42,000 available for the clean-up.
A Disaster Recovery allowance is aimed to assist employees and business owners; one federal program allows for 13 weeks of financial support to employees.
The amount payable is the equivalent of the Jobseeker payment or youth allowance, but has eligibility clauses.
Watering hole: Rochester’s Criterion Hotel placed all furniture and valuable items on “high ground’’ at the peak of the floods.
Victoria’s Emergency Re-establishment Assistance payment is designed to help with clean-up, emergency accommodation and damaged contents.
It allows for payments of up to $42,240 and is for people whose principal place of residence has been destroyed, damaged or otherwise uninhabitable for more than seven days.
This is means-tested and only available to individuals and families who do not have home or contents insurance.
A state government Emergency Relief Payment is available, worth up to $2030 for a household, while the Federal Government’s Disaster Recovery Payment is also available: $1000 for each adult and $400 for any child younger than 16.
The flood recovery hotline established by the state government operates from 7.30am until 7.30pm every day, on 1800 560 760.
