Insurance Australia : A stronger national disaster program will safeguard communities

IAG today welcomed the final report of the Northern Australia Insurance Premiums Taskforce that emphasised mitigation as the only sustainable way to help lower premiums for residents in Northern Australia.

The company said the report findings clearly show there is still a need to invest in a coordinated national resilience program to protect Northern Australian residents from severe weather events and deliver simpler planning laws and fairer industry taxes to help reduce premiums.

IAG Chief Executive Australian Consumer Division, Anthony Justice, said the company supports the Taskforce view that investing in up front mitigation and resilience measures, as opposed to recovery and reconstruction after an event, will help protect communities and businesses in the long term from extreme weather events.

'The Australian Business Roundtable for Disaster Resilience & Safer Communities (the Roundtable) recently released the Building Resilient Infrastructure report that found more than $450 million was spent by Australian governments each financial year on restoring public infrastructure assets following extreme weather events between 2002 and 2011,' Mr Justice said.

'The Roundtable also found that direct replacement of essential infrastructure impacted by natural disasters will cost $17 billion by 2050.

'We believe if there is Government intervention in Northern Australia, it should be focused on reducing vulnerability through land use planning, building codes and better funding for mitigation and retro-fitting.

'We also know greater information sharing that provides more access to data will give residents the opportunity to make more informed decisions and actively manage their risk.

'Our industry needs to do more to help residents understand their risks and how they can reduce them.

'IAG will continue to work with all levels of government to deliver a stronger national disaster resilience program that protects residents and communities in Northern Australia,' Mr Justice added.