Insurers in Australia are urging lawmakers to establish a A$30 billion ($21.4 billion) flood defense fund as the nation grapples with rising costs from extreme weather events.
The Insurance Council of Australia said in a statement on Sunday that the funds would be used to pay for more flood protection infrastructure, including the addition of dams or levees, and a $10 billion property buyback program targeting an estimated 10,000 homes in areas where flood risk mitigation is not feasible.
Andrew Hall, the council’s executive director, said in the statement that Prime Minister Anthony Albany’s government has powers “to reduce premium pressures for the most at-risk households in the short term, while investing in large-scale infrastructure and risk reduction projects in the long term”.
Globally insured losses from natural disasters reached $107 billion last year, according to reinsurance company Swiss ReAG. Rising premiums are forcing some households to drop coverage, while insurers are also withdrawing service entirely from some high-risk areas.
From 2019 to 2024, insured losses from extreme weather events in Australia averaged $4.5 billion a year, almost two-thirds higher than in the previous five-year period, according to the council’s statement.
Image: Emergency workers patrol a flooded area as they evacuate residents in the Melbourne suburb of Maryburnong in 2022. Photo credit: William West/AFP/Getty Images
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