Insurer Suncorp Group has announced that it has joined the Federal Government’s Cyclone Reinsurance Pool.
Lisa Harrison, CEO of Insurance Product & Portfolio at Suncorp Group, confirmed all eligible customers at the point of renewal and any new business policies for home, strata, landlord and small business property insurance across the Group’s brands, including AAMI, Apia and Vero, will now access the Pool.
Harrison commented, “Our commitment is to ensure all savings from the Cyclone Reinsurance Pool are passed onto our customers. Individual premiums are impacted by a range of factors and risks separate to the savings from the Cyclone Reinsurance Pool. This includes record-high global reinsurance costs and inflation on building costs rising over recent years. This means the impact of the Pool on premiums will depend on customers’ individual circumstances.”
The ACCC is monitoring the pricing of insurers who join the cyclone pool, and data is being collected to evaluate the impact of the Pool and ensure savings are being passed through to policyholders.
Suncorp supports the need for long-term investment to tackle the underlying risks driving insurance affordability and accessibility challenges.
Harrison added, “The Commonwealth’s Disaster Ready Fund is a good start, and we welcomed the first round of projects announced earlier this month. We now need shovels in the ground and a long-term pipeline of projects to reduce natural hazard risks and help communities thrive. Importantly, once the benefits of mitigation are delivered all insurers must then reflect the lower risk in insurance premiums.”
Suncorp is supporting the Pool as a government initiative for communities vulnerable to cyclones, the company will advocate for long-term investment to lessen the physical, economic and social impact of all extreme weather.
“We have long advocated with a four-point action plan to ease insurance affordability pressures in high-risk regions of Australia, including investments in public and private resilience infrastructure, improvements to where we build and how we build homes, and tax reform. Suncorp will continue to work constructively as part of the Federal Government’s Hazards Insurance Partnership to help target future investments towards communities most at-risk,” concluded Harrison.
Suncorp Group will provide an update on its FY24 reinsurance program, which will reflect entry to the Cyclone Pool, in early July 2023.
