Suncorp panel calls for collaboration on disaster resilience

A panel discussion hosted by Suncorp and public policy group The McKell Institute says cooperation between insurers and governments remains “imperative” to ensure that Queensland is “fully risk-ready” for future natural disasters.

The discussion invited speakers from Queensland state and local government, academia, and the insurance industry to address the state’s preparedness for its next major event.

Suncorp Chair Christine McLoughlin opened the event, speaking on the critical importance of sector partnership as disasters become “more frequent and place enormous pressure on our social, economic, environmental and policy systems”.

“Preparing the state for its next natural disaster is a shared responsibility and is one that can only be solved by insurers, industry, government and academics working side by side,” Ms McLoughlin said

The insurer says key themes emerging from the panel centred on the importance of improved research into weather patterns and identifying future infrastructure landscapes.

Suncorp CEO Steve Johnston highlights the need to provide property owners with products that incentivise increased protection, such as resiliency upgrades and retrofits.

“We’re advocating for practical ways consumers can continue to live a quality lifestyle in Queensland, while maintaining their home insurance,” Mr Johnston said.

He references Suncorp’s four-point resilience plan as a critical focus to relieve homeowner pressure and says that the Queensland Government’s Resilient Homes Fund, which launched last August, was a “welcome investment”.

“We’ve now seen the dial shift on government resilience investment, with the announcement of the Queensland Government’s Resilience Homes Fund soon after the East Coast Floods of 2022,” Mr Johnston said.

“It’s important we’re integrating this into our approach as insurers – helping our customers understand what options they have for building back better after a significant weather event like flooding.”

Queensland Deputy Premier and State Development minister Steven Miles says programs such as the Resilience Home Fund acknowledge the complex reality faced by homeowners.

“The program recognises there’s not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach; and the buy-back scheme that’s been integrated as part of this is essential to those parts of Queensland that are just too risky to build back better on,” Mr Miles said.

He says continued collaboration across sectors remains critical to protecting Queenslanders from extreme weather events.

“It’s important that we’re working with insurers like Suncorp to grasp the true risk of areas in Queensland that may be disaster-prone so we can appropriately plan and educate,” Mr Miles said.

“We should be proud of how we support one another, particularly when those disasters strike – we’re very good at it.”