Insurance premiums report released

A long awaited report into insurance premiums in Northern Australia has been released, three months after being handed to the Federal Government.

The Northern Australia Insurance Premiums Taskforce was announced by the then assistant treasurer Josh Frydenburg in an effort to find ways to decrease the cost of premiums in cyclone-prone areas of WA, Northern Territory and Queensland.

The key recommendation to come out of the report was the need for better mitigation strategies, including improved building standards, more public education, and measures to strengthen older buildings.

Development of insurance pricing systems which recognise mitigation action and government subsidies for households which cannot afford adequate mitigation to attain these systems have also been mooted.

Other measures probed included the creation of a mutual or reinsurance pool.

A reinsurance pool supported by a Government guarantee is seen as the preferred option because of its potential to introduce more competition.

The report noted it would be difficult to ensure reductions for insurers were passed on to consumers and the Government would assume “significant risk” to achieve any reduction in premiums.

The Federal Government is expected to give an official response by June 30. Full details will be in next week’sPilbara News .