Monday, 24 February 2025

A new report highlighting progress the insurance industry has made since Australia’s most costly extreme weather event has been released today, in response to seven recommendations put to the industry in October 2023.

In February 2023, the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) commissioned Deloitte to undertake an in-depth analysis of how insurers and the ICA responded to the South-East Queensland and Northern Rivers 2022 floods, collectively known as CAT221.

This initial report, The new benchmark for catastrophe preparedness, outlined seven recommendations for insurers and the ICA, focused on improving consumer outcomes, resourcing, preparedness, operational response, governance and transparency, coordination with government, and aspects of the General Insurance Code of Practice review.  

The follow-up report released today, After the floods – meeting the benchmark, assesses industry progress in adopting and implementing those recommendations.

Findings from the follow-up report include:

• The industry has made significant progress. Substantial investment and resources have been committed to improving insurer operations across the industry against all recommendations, with ongoing work plans in place.
• Some insurers are further progressed than others. Insurers have been working on implementation but some have made more progress than others and the extent of uplift has varied. Some of this uplift work has already been completed, however, some of the more transformational changes, like technology upgrades, will take some insurers longer than others to deliver.
• While progress has been made insurers still have more to do. This varies across insurers but includes:
  • Increasing maturity around stress testing and simulation activity
  • Managing consumer vulnerability at scale
  • Increasing the maturity of quality assurance functions for claims decisions
  • Improving approaches to resourcing complaint handling functions
  • Using data triaging to automate or accelerate certain claims after events
  • Ensuring the comprehensiveness, quality and consistency of data for internal reporting and management oversight.
• The ICA is progressing globally leading work. The ICA’s Disaster Charter and Playbook are recognised as the only guides of their kind globally, providing a framework for consistent response and support for consumers from the general insurance industry in the aftermath of extreme weather events. The current flooding situation in North Queensland is a reminder just how pertinent this is.

The ICA and its members will continue to work on areas requiring ongoing attention, along with the full suite of recommendations from both the Standing Committee on Economics’ Inquiry into insurer’s handling of the 2022 major floods and the Independent Review of the General Insurance Code of Practice.

The ICA released the first tranche of the industry’s response to these inquiry reports in December 2024, accepting 78 of 187 recommendations across both reports. The ICA is now working on the next tranche of recommendations and looks forward to continuing our engagement with consumer advocates and other key stakeholders on this work.

Monday, 17 February 2025

The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) is revisiting Lismore this week to meet with businesses, government, and community to hear how the region is recovering and rebuilding three years on from the devastating 2022 floods.

The catastrophic event that impacted the Northern Rivers region and South-East Queensland in February and March of 2022 remains the costliest insured event in Australia's history.

Insurers received more than 242,000 claims from the event at a cost of $6.4 billion. More than 99 per cent of these claims are closed, with insurers continuing to receive a small number of new claims each month from this event.

During the visit to Lismore, ICA CEO Andrew Hall met with local businesses and participated in a roundtable alongside Business NSW and the NSW Reconstruction Authority to hear about the region’s progress towards recovery.

The roundtable included discussion of a range of mitigation measures put in place by local businesses to improve their resilience against future extreme weather events, including raising or relocating homes in high-risk locations and businesses that have been built back better.

As part of its collaborative approach to work with government to help build more resilient communities, the ICA met representatives of all three levels of government during its visit to Lismore to discuss progress in the region and community mitigation options.

Quotes attributable to ICA CEO Andrew Hall:

Having been in Lismore in the days after the floodwaters receded and many times since, you can’t help being struck by the way in which the community has got back on its feet and is taking significant steps to better protect people from future events.

Through the roundtable and personal engagement with those affected by the 2022 floods, it is clear that Lismore is trying new and innovative ways to improve community resilience, with a number of homeowners and businesses in the region proactively investing in mitigation measures to reduce the impact of future floods.

However, Lismore remains one of the most flood-exposed communities in the country, and the reality is that much more investment in hard infrastructure is needed to better protect this unique city.

Quotes attributable to NSW Parliamentary Secretary for Disaster Recovery and State Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin MP:

We in the Northern Rivers know we have major insurance challenges, notably access and affordability, and we are acting to get change. This is global and it is not like it was unknown.

On behalf of our community and supported by the Reconstruction Authority, the Community Leaders Forum put forward the most comprehensive submission regarding insurance (and approaches to address access and affordability) to the Federal Parliamentary Inquiry into insurance-related matters.

Their report recommended that government consider our submission and I am driving this forward as one of the 2025 projects, along with our regional Masterplan and the CSIRO Northern Rivers Resilience Initiative (NRRI) project that will give us mitigation options. These are interlinked.

Quote attributable to Business NSW Regional Director Jane Laverty:

Appropriate insurance has always been a critical component for well managed business operations and risk management strategies. However, insurance cover access and affordability has been significantly impacted by disaster events and in our region directly affected by the 2022 weather event.

We have been working closely with the Insurance Council of Australia and the CEO Andrew Hall since the 2022 event to navigate impacts and review options for alternative insurance as well as a collective push for mitigation investment that would potentially shift the cost of premiums to more affordable and accessible.

The impact of inaction is clear: uninsurable businesses lead to closures, job losses, and a weakened economy.

Business NSW encourages all Government bodies and industry stakeholders to work together, act decisively and ensure a sustainable future for our business community.

Tuesday, 11 February 2025

The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) and its members are expanding their support across North Queensland with ICA representatives supporting impacted residents in Ingham, Cardwell, Mission Beach, Tully and Innisfail.

Two insurers have established their presence in Ingham at the Community Recovery Hub from today, with other insurers to join them in the coming days once road access becomes consistent and safe. Policyholders from across the region can seek this in-person support at Ingham’s TAFE on Townsville Road daily.

Insurers have received more than 5,690 storm and flood related claims since the storm and flooding event began on 29 January.

The ICA is closely monitoring other parts of the region which remain cut off due to flood waters and infrastructure damage. Extended insurer presence in other parts of North Queensland will become a priority as soon as it is safe to do so.

Support is also continuing at the Insurance Hub in Townsville with dozens of customers receiving personalised advice from Suncorp, RACQ, IAG, Hollard, Allianz, QBE and Youi.

The ICA has also welcomed Red Cross, Lifeline, Salvation Army, Small Business and Financial Councillors and the Department of Communities to the Insurance Hub at Townsville Stadium which will remain open until Saturday 15 February.

For residents and businesses beginning the clean-up process, the ICA’s tips include:
• Lodge a claim with your insurer as soon as you can, even if the full extent of the damage isn’t yet known
• Take photos before removing any water damaged or soaked items that may pose a health risk
• Make a list of damaged items, including the brand, model and serial number if you can
• Don't throw away items that could be repaired unless they pose a health risk
• Speak to your insurer before you authorise any building work

Quotes attributable to Andrew Hall, CEO, Insurance Council of Australia:

While the clean-up is beginning for some parts of North Queensland, for others this very much remains an active weather event. Ongoing rain is seeing opened roads re-close and causing further inundation to already saturated communities.

The ICA and its members are committed to providing on the ground support but is prioritising safety of both the local community and its own team members.

As soon as it is safe to do so across broader parts of the region, insurers will ensure their availability to speak with policyholders about making a claim and answer any questions about the claims process.

Thursday, 6 February 2025

The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) is continuing to monitor the severe weather and flooding in north Queensland, which was declared a Significant Event by the ICA on Sunday 2 February.

Insurers have received more than 3,950 storm and flood related claims over the last seven days.

However, it is still too early to estimate the total damage bill as many communities remain isolated and an ongoing and active event for many.

While the threat is not over for some regions, others are starting the clean-up process.

In the immediate aftermath of a flooding event, it’s important that safety remains the number one priority.

For those ready to commence the clean-up process, the Insurance Council has some tips to assist:

• Take photos before removing any water damaged or soaked items that may pose a health risk
• Make a list of damaged items, including the brand, model and serial number if you can
• Don't throw away items that could be repaired unless they pose a health risk
• Speak to your insurer before you authorise any building work

Insurers are supporting impacted customers via the Insurance Hub activated yesterday in Townsville. Representatives from the ICA, Suncorp, RACQ, IAG, Hollard, Allianz, QBE and Youi will be present at Townsville Stadium daily.

The ICA encourages policyholders to make a claim as soon as possible, even if the full extent of the damage isn’t yet known.

Quotes attributable to Andrew Hall, CEO, Insurance Council of Australia:

While the true impact of this event on property, business and infrastructure remains to be seen, we know the road to recovery can be difficult.

As expected, claims continue to grow from this widespread event and insurers are committed to supporting policyholders through the claims process, both in person at the Insurance Hub and via usual communication methods.

Safety is always top priority so we encourage residents to only return home and begin the clean-up process when it’s safe to do so.