Standards and denying insurance.

I have a engineers report for damage from the floods. One of the points made is that the house does not come up to Australian standards so the insurance is void in these areas. What is a standard? Back in the 1890s the current practice was to burn a post and char the surface and put it in the ground the other way was to soak it in creosote and then place it in the ground. These were accepted practices of the day and these houses have stood the test of time. Even to this day the practice of putting posts directly into the ground and building onto these posts is done. In the suburb of Dapto in NSW there is a building built in this way and it is a two story affair and is called the Ribbon wood centre and was built for the local council for a library and community centre. I will report on these matters again if the problem is not resolved naming the insurance company and the engineer involved.