Insurance Council of Australia

Projects

Victorian Councils, Climate and Resilience Partnership

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Victorian Councils, Climate and Resilience Partnership

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Status: Partnership

Overview

The Southeast Councils Climate Change Alliance (SECCCA) region is particularly vulnerable to climate change. The ICA has previously worked with SECCCA to identify responsibilities and potential liability risks relating to privately owned assets, such as homes.

Our latest collaboration works to gain an understanding of flood and bushfire impacts on the most vulnerable residential dwellings in the region and propose solutions to bolster resilience. It will also consider the considerable data and risk assessment barrier that make it challenging for local government and communities to understand the vulnerability of homes to worsening extreme weather.

The final report will be released in 2022.

Partnerships

  • Southeast Councils Climate Change Alliance
  • Spatial Vision

Useful links

Help in a disaster
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Cyclone and Flood Vulnerability Project

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Cyclone and Flood Vulnerability Project

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Cyclones and floods will increase in frequency and intensity in a climate changed future. This project uses aggregated claims and loss data to provide empirical evidence for the vulnerability of modern homes (built post 2000).

Appropriate land-use planning, building codes and construction quality, coupled with affordable insurance is a foundation for community resilience to natural disasters.

Damage investigations following tropical cyclones have shown that there is positive change in performance for life safety robustness of housing, built after the code changes (post-1980) across the tropical cyclone regions of Australia. However, achieving life safety does not necessarily result in protection of property or reduced economic loss from natural disasters. Investigations of damage to buildings following severe weather events shows continuing problems with the performance of contemporary engineered buildings, particularly with respect to water ingress.

Objective

The project aggregated claims and loss data from ICA members and has developed empirical evidence regarding the vulnerability of modern homes to cyclone and flood.

Relationship/Partnership

James Cooke University, Cyclone Testing Station and Risk Frontiers were commissioned to conduct the project. Claims and Loss Data was provided by the following ICA Members: RACQ, Allianz, IAG, Suncorp, QBE, and Westpac.

Measures of Success

Report is used to provide evidence for a change to the building code in 2025.

Useful links

Help in a disaster
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icon www.moneysmart.gov.au

Building Resilience Rating Tool (BRRT)

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Building Resilience Rating Tool (BRRT)

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Measuring and disclosing the resilience of homes to natural hazards

The BRRT informs homeowners about the exposure and vulnerability of their property and encourages action to increase resilience and reduce the potential damage/loss from natural hazard events in a climate changed future. The BRRT increases the knowledge and awareness of the homeowner to the risks of climate change and a changing natural hazard profile.

The BRRT has been developed by the ICA over a decade as part of a broad set of initiatives to disclose risk information to the customer about property, and encourage consideration of risks as part of due diligence during property sale transactions.

The BRRT draws information from the ICA data and uses details entered by the customer to calculate a resilience rating from 1 (brittle) to 5 (resilient).

Objective

A key objective is to have the BRRT incorporated into a third-party rating scheme and drive leading practice resilient building (adapting homes to climate change). This is being delivered through the ICA’s partnership with the Green Building Council of Australia on The Future Homes initiative.

Relationship/Partnerships

The BRRT has been developed over the course of 10 years and used in a series of initiatives to measure and guide the development of more resilient communities. There have been many partnerships with local governments, and the latest partnership with the Green Building Council of Australia sees us working with volume home builders.

The BRRT is currently under development in the “Early Access” phase of Green Star for homes.

Success Metric

A third-party certification for resilient homes.

Useful links

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Acknowledgement of Country

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners on the many lands the people of the ICA reside and work. We respect and honour Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Elders past, present, and emerging.
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