ICA takes strides in cross-border insurance partnership

The ICA and the Climate Department of Insurance have made a commitment to a cross border climate and resilience partnership.

The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) and the California Department of Insurance (CDI), with support from the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia (AmCham), were part of the California-Australia Flood and Fire Summit in Sacramento. This gathering brought together top insurance industry leaders, catastrophe management experts, climate scientists, government officials, and elected representatives from both California and Australia.

The summit's primary objective was to build a blueprint for collaboration, leveraging the long history of bilateral cooperation in disaster management, climate risk, and clean energy between Australia and California. Key findings from the summit emphasised the necessity for shared disaster preparedness, response, and resilience strategies across 4 key takeaways.

Global best practices in disaster management: The summit underscored the importance of preparing for, responding to, and mitigating the impacts of fires and floods. Investment in mitigation and resilience, along with changes to building standards and land use planning, were identified as critical measures to improve long-term insurance availability.

Closing the protection gap: Collaboration between insurance sectors and governments was considered essential to address the protection gap and improve insurance availability. By combining industry and government expertise, a shared understanding of current and future hazard risks can be developed, fostering opportunities for joint initiatives.

Enduring insurance sector partnership: The summit marked the commitment to a climate and resilience partnership between the ICA and the CDI. This partnership aims to build a unified approach to managing growing climate risks. An upcoming National Conference in Brisbane in October 2024 will further this international collaboration.

Addressing the global insurance challenge: The widening protection gap and rising pressure on insurance premiums is a global issue. Both the US and Australian markets are experiencing a growing divide between those who can afford insurance in high-risk areas and those who cannot. The summit emphasised the need for solutions to drive down risk and put downward pressure on premiums.