The ICA’s second annual Insurance Catastrophe Resilience Report uses insurer data and insights to review the last 12 months of extreme weather events and advocate for changes to reduce the impact of future events.
Resilience Investment
The Cost of Extreme Weather – The McKell Institute
Commissioned by the ICA, The McKell Institute report, The Cost of Extreme Weather, shows that extreme weather events over the past 12 months cost every Australian household.
Insurance Council welcomes Disaster Ready Fund
Insurance Council welcomes Disaster Ready Fund
News release
Wednesday, 7 September 2022
The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) welcomes the Federal Government’s Disaster Ready Fund Bill 2022 introduced to Parliament today.
The $200 million a year Disaster Ready Fund initiative is in line with the Insurance Council’s report, Building a More Resilient Australia, which earlier this year called for a range of measures to better protect households and communities from the impacts of extreme weather and put downward pressure on premiums.
Building a More Resilient Australia outlines a number of areas of investment that would make at-risk communities and homes more resilient to flood, cyclone and bushfire.
At a cost of $2 billion over five years these investments are estimated to save governments and households at least $19 billion to 2050.
To ensure the nation receives the full benefit of the Disaster Ready Fund the Insurance Council is calling on all state and territory governments to match the Federal Government’s commitment in their jurisdictions.
In addition to greater investment in resilience measures, the ICA is calling for a review of land use planning arrangements to ensure no more homes are built in areas with a high risk of extreme weather impacts, and for national building codes to be strengthened.
Additionally, states and territories must finally abolish duties, levies and taxes on insurance products, which only increase the cost of premiums and discourage adequate levels of cover.
The ICA will tomorrow release new research on the cost of extreme weather in its second Insurance Catastrophe Resilience Report, which uses insurer data and insights to review the last 12 months of extreme weather events and advocate for changes to reduce the impact of future events.
Quote attributable to ICA CEO Andrew Hall:
We congratulate the Albanese Government on its commitment to invest in improving the resilience of home and communities at risk of impacts from floods, cyclones and bushfires.
Resilience and mitigation funding is an investment into future protection, and so it is the responsibility of all levels of government to do more to improve community resilience.
Until we make greater investment in public infrastructure and home retrofits, improve how we build new homes and undertake better land use planning, the risk profile of communities exposed to extreme weather will not change.
Additional resilience funding welcome in Queensland budget
Additional resilience funding welcome in Queensland budget
News release
Tuesday, 21 June 2022
The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has welcomed the confirmation of $741 million in additional funding to better protect Queensland homes and communities from the impacts of extreme weather in the State Budget handed down today.
The Government’s commitment to additional funding, co-funded by the Federal Government, matches the amount called for by the Insurance Council in its Building a more resilient Australia report released in February.
The ICA welcomes the extension of the Queensland Government’s $13.1 million Resilience and Risk Reduction Fund to support disaster mitigation projects and build resilience to worsening extreme weather in the State.
The budget also includes a welcomed $170 million to build essential public infrastructure such as roads, bridges, causeways and culverts back to standard.
The ICA is pleased to see $900 million allocated to Queensland Fire and Emergency Services which will go a long way in supporting the vital work of the State’s first responders.
Quote attributable to ICA CEO Andrew Hall:
The ICA commends the Palaszczuk Government for this very significant increase in resilience funding, made in response to the devastating floods experienced in South-East Queensland in February and March this year.
Last year the ICA was critical of the Government’s Budget for its lack of funding in this area, but it’s clear that this has now been reversed.
Queensland is now leading the nation in terms of resilience and mitigation funding which is critical given the State’s exposure.
ICA welcomes new Albanese ministry
ICA welcomes new Albanese ministry
News release
Wednesday, 1 June 2022
The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) today welcomed the formation of the first Albanese ministry and said it looked forward to working with the Government’s new ministers on improving the resilience of homes and communities exposed to extreme weather risk.
While there have been some changes in the portfolio responsibilities relating to insurance, in the main the new ministers will provide continuity from Opposition, where the ICA and insurers worked constructively with shadow ministers on policies to improve community resilience and support insurance customers.
The Treasury and Finance portfolios remain largely unchanged from Opposition, and the ICA looks forward to working with Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones on the implementation of the Northern Australian Reinsurance Pool, among other issues.
Insurers well understand the impacts of a changing climate, and so the return of the Climate Change portfolio and its position in Cabinet under the able stewardship of Chris Bowen is welcomed.
The ICA welcomes the continuation of Senator Murray Watt in the Emergency Management portfolio as the clean up from the February-March flood continues under the threat of continued extreme weather.
The ICA and insurers supported Labor’s $200 million Prevent, Repair, Rebuild package, announced by Senator Watt and Prime Minster Albanese in January to better protect Australian homes and communities from the impacts of storms, floods, bushfires and cyclones.
The Government’s commitment matches that made by the Insurance Council in Building a more resilient Australia, our election platform report that outlined the pressing need to improve protections for Australians from extreme weather risk, and represents a significant step up in resilience funding.
The ICA is also focused on how insurance can protect Australian businesses from cyber-attacks and welcomes the appointment of Claire O’Neil as Minister for Cyber Security along with her Home Affairs responsibilities, and the elevation of the Cyber Security portfolio into the Cabinet.
Quote attributable to ICA CEO Andrew Hall:
There are no shortage of issues confronting ministers in portfolios that relate to insurance, and the ICA looks forward to continuing our work with those minsters we know well and those new to our areas of interest.
We are really pleased to see Senator Murray Watt retain Emergency Management and enter the Cabinet, which is testament to the hard work he has put into this difficult portfolio area.
I’d also like to thank Matt Thistlethwaite, who moves into other portfolio roles but who showed a very collaborative and open-minded approach to the insurance sector over the past three years as Shadow Assistant Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation.
Community resilience to flood can improve, new report finds
Community resilience to flood can improve, new report finds
News release
A new report released today by the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has found current land-use planning rules are not properly protecting Australians from worsening flood risk but can be improved.
Estimates show more than one million private properties, or about one in 10 homes, have some level of flood risk in Australia.
Revealed in the third of ICA’s Climate Change Impact report series, Flooding and Future Risks, the report identifies the need for an overhaul of the rules governing how and where new homes are built.
It notes as the climate continues to warm existing flood zones are likely to expand and expose more property and assets.
While the report focuses on modern homes (built post-2000) and managing flood risk to new development, it also identifies important measures to mitigate the risk of flood in established areas, such as investing in levees and floodways.
The report, which draws on analysis conducted by James Cook University Cyclone Testing Station in association with Risk Frontiers, leverages data from thousands of flood claims covering four recent flood events.
The report finds that:
Current land use planning settings and associated building controls do not eliminate flood risk to modern properties
The current building code does not consider building resilience to flood risk
There are key data gaps that prevent insurers and homeowners from building an accurate picture of flood risk, particularly in a changing climate.
The report identifies flooding as one of the costliest extreme weather events in Australia.
The total cost of floods, from river flooding and high intensity rainfall, since ICA records began in 1970 is in excess of $21.3 billion.
The cost of this year’s floods across south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales is estimated to be $3.346 billion, making it Australia’s costliest flood ever.
The report references analysis by financial actuary consultancy Finity for the Insurance Council, proposing a five-year $2 billion Federal Government resilience investment program to better protect Australians from flood as well as cyclones, bushfire and coastal risks.
Quote attributable to ICA CEO Andrew Hall:
This report again underscores the need to make better decisions in land use planning, building standards and government investment in mitigation works if we are going to end this cycle of flood impacts on homes and businesses in Australia.
Addressing the risks identified in this report will play a key role in better protecting communities in the face of worsening flooding and help improve access to affordable insurance coverage.
