The Cyclone Jasper in Queensland last December had the greatest impact on individual customers, with an average claim of $36,000.
Insurers have been paying customers affected by extreme weather events an average of $2.1 billion annually over the past three decades, highlighting the impact of climate change on the economy.
Declared insurance catastrophes have seen insured losses grow from 0.2 percent of GDP from 1995 to 2000 to 0.7 percent in the last five years, according to the Insurance Council of Australia’s (ICA) Insurance Catastrophe Resilience Report 2023-24.
The report states that insurers faced $2.19 billion in claims from extreme weather events last year, similar to the previous year, but there were 157,000 claims in the last 12 months, 66,000 more than the previous period.
Andrew Hall, CEO of ICA, mentioned that flood is Australia’s most costly natural peril, with around 1.2 million properties at risk. The report also highlighted that 230,000 properties face a one in 20 annual flooding chance, leading to increased premiums and a growing protection gap.
The
University of New South Wales (UNSW) reported in February that 2023 witnessed multiple severe weather abnormalities in Australia, including Cyclone Jasper, the South Australian heatwave, winter heat in NSW, and devastating floods in the Northern Territory and Queensland.
Andy Pitman, a leading climate scientist, stated that specific extreme weather events are becoming more frequent in Australia in 2023 compared to previous years, with many occurring close together and compounding their impact on the environment.
Data from the ICA report revealed that the costliest weather event in the past year was the Christmas storms affecting the Gold Coast, NSW, and Queensland, resulting in $1.33 billion in claims.
Moreover, the report noted that Cyclone Jasper had the most significant impact on individual customers last December, with an average claim of $36,000, nearly three times higher than the average claim for the Christmas storms.
Minister for Emergency Management Murray Watt mentioned in a
previous statement that the Albanese government is working on implementing recommendations to address emergencies caused by climate change by transferring support functions to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
The ICA report, submitted to Canberra, includes policy recommendations for the government to consider, focusing on de-risking strategies to reduce pressure on premiums and close the protection gap by improving planning, building stronger structures, investing in public infrastructure, and implementing home buyback programs.
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