The federal government has released details of guiding principles for resilience investment, developed with insurers through the Hazards Insurance Partnership.

The partners agreed on the guide at a meeting in November when ways to address premium affordability were discussed.

More details were released today at the partnership’s 12th meeting in Canberra.

Assistant Treasurer and Financial Services Minister Daniel Mulino said: “The agreement of these principles is significant in supporting Australia’s long-term economic resilience.

“Having investments which mitigate the risk from a natural disaster recognised in insurance pricing will help affordability.

“It’s part of the work to reduce the risk Australians face from increasingly extreme weather events.”

Prioritising mitigation investments that will have the greatest material impact on reducing risk by working with all levels of government, industry and the community is one of the eight guiding principles.

Others include considering the administrative burden and costs for governments, customers and insurers; and recognising specific decisions on insurance products and pricing are a matter for individual insurers and are important in supporting competitive markets.

“Insurers are not committing to providing a specified percentage or numerical discount for mitigation activities,” the guide states.

Insurance Council of Australia CEO Andrew Hall says it is critical that industry and government work together to target investment where it will most reduce risk.

“Flood levees, cyclone-resilient building standards and bushfire-proofing measures make a material difference to whether homes can withstand the extreme weather events they face,” he said.

“The alternative is a costly cycle of rebuilding the same homes, in the same way, only for them to be damaged again in the next disaster.”

Assistant Minister for Emergency Management Josh Wilson says the guiding principles are an important step in strengthening collaboration between governments and insurers.

“By guiding smarter investment in resilience and mitigation measures, the Hazards Insurance Partnership will help households and communities to be better prepared in the face of more frequent and more intense weather events,” he said.

See the guide here.

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