The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has welcomed the opening of the third round of funding from the federal government's AUD 1bn ($627, 205) Disaster Ready Fund, aimed at better protecting communities from the physical, economic and social impacts of worsening extreme weather events.
A press release by ICA said, “The Fund’s AUD200m annual investment is crucial to addressing the rising risks of bushfire, flooding and cyclones, fuelled by a changing climate, the rising costs of assets and populations expanding into high-risk areas.”
Insurers have long called for greater investment in significant resilience infrastructure that drives down hazard risk. This is reflected in the updated funding allocation, with AUD138m of the AUD200m fund now dedicated to critical mitigation infrastructure.
ICA said greater government investment in public infrastructure that protects communities from the impacts of extreme weather, supported by federal and state government uplifts in disaster funding, is critical to reducing the pressure on insurance premiums to help close the protection gap.
ICA CEO Andrew Hall said, “The recent devastating bushfires in LA serve as a reminder of the importance of investing in hard resilience infrastructure and measures that drive down risk and better protect our homes and communities.
Mr Hall said, “Smarter land use planning decisions and building more durable homes for the Australian conditions is the only sustainable way to moderate rising insurance premiums in high-risk areas.
“We look forward to continuing to engage with government on targeting resilience investment to the Australians who need it the most, through the world-leading Hazards Insurance Partnership (HIP), and hope to see the Disaster Ready Fund extended to a ten-year rolling programme.”