ICA CALLS FOR CHANGES TO IMPROVE NAT CAT RESILIENCE

The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has called for changes to the country’s planning rules and building codes to promote the resilience of residential property. The ICA recommends reform of Australia’s land use planning reforms to “better incorporate the experience and insights of the building and insurance industries in the aftermath of natural disasters”. It also proposed government incentives to invest in resilience measures when building new homes to improve resilience, as well as better risk data sharing. ICA chief executive Andrew Hall said “At present, there is no system in place in Australia to assess and record the level of resilience in a building, making it difficult for insurers to adjust premiums accordingly,” Mr Hall said.