“Shocking” climate impact data released this week will support conversations with clients on risk changes and mitigation, according to National Insurance Brokers Association CEO Richard Klipin.

The report shows “what might have been true last year, five years ago, 10 years ago, may not be true tomorrow” and raises questions over risks clients are willing to accept and their mitigation planning, he told a Senate committee inquiry into climate risk assessment.

“Our role is really to work with clients and to make them aware and then ultimately try to help them offset and manage the risks.”

The National Climate Risk Assessment, released on Monday, was “pretty shocking in many ways” and “very confronting” but provided valuable information for the sector, he said. 

Mr Klipin told the inquiry insurance is the cornerstone of resilience, enabling families, communities and businesses to recover more quickly after a disaster, reducing reliance on government relief and supporting economies. 

“Its effectiveness depends on two key things: manageable underlying risk and access to transparent high-quality information,” he said. 

“Climate risk assessment is therefore critical. It provides the data needed for insurers to price risks sustainably and for brokers to advise effectively, and for governments and communities to target mitigation and resilience measures where they are most needed.” 

The assessment finds that while climate hazards will worsen under “all plausible futures”, the difference between 2 degrees and 3 degrees of global warming is significant.  

Floods, fires and cyclones are expected to become more frequent and severe, sea level rise could put 1.5 million more people at risk by 2050, and heatwaves will lead to more deaths, especially in north Australia.