The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) opened Community Resilience Week at Parliament House on Monday, urging governments to cut disaster risk before a summer that could bring the strongest El Niño on record.
A 9am showcase in the Mural Hall brought together 23 organisations from the insurance, emergency management, community support and research sectors, the ICA said. Parliamentarians were invited to learn how those groups help communities prepare for and recover from natural disasters. The week coincides with the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction on Tuesday.
ICA CEO Andrew Hall said in a release: “The Bureau says the current El Niño is likely to become the strongest on record, reinforcing the need for governments, insurers and communities to be ready for extreme weather this summer.”
Newer forecasts support that warning. The Bureau of Meteorology declared El Niño underway on June 16, according to a transport insurance report. On Oct. 8, the World Meteorological Organization said Pacific sea-surface temperatures are forecast to reach record levels from October to December, with a peak in December. The same day, the US Climate Prediction Center put the chance of a historic event, stronger than any since 1950, at 83% for that period.
Strength does not map neatly onto damage. CSIRO notes that many of the worst bushfire and drought events on record occurred during relatively weak El Niño events. Moody’s models indicate El Niño raises Australian bushfire risk by more than 50% compared with non-El Niño years, while the same circulation patterns tend to reduce tropical cyclone risk, the firm said. For brokers, that points to exposure that will differ by region and peril.
The financial stakes are rising. The ICA recorded $3.98 billion in insured losses across seven declared catastrophe events, up from roughly $2.2 billion across three events the year before, Insurance Business reported. Its 2025-26 Catastrophe Resilience Report found bushfire carried the highest average claim cost of any peril, at $114,888, and that building costs rose about 30% between 2021 and 2026, outpacing CPI growth of about 24%. Brokers advising rural and property clients may want to revisit sums insured before fire season. The Australasian Fire and Emergency Services Authorities Council’s Aug. 19 outlook flagged heightened fire risk across northern and southeastern NSW, southeast Queensland and northeastern Tasmania, among other areas, according to a farm insurance report.
Hall said insurers cannot predict precisely when or where the next major flood, cyclone, bushfire or storm will hit, but “there is more governments can do now to reduce that risk.” He added: “Better forecasting and faster disaster response are important, but they cannot address the underlying risk on their own.” He also said: “Greater investment in projects that improve community resilience, better land-use planning, and stronger homes can reduce the damage disasters cause and help ease pressure on insurance costs over time.”
Affordability is the backdrop. APRA’s March assessment found home insurance premiums rose an average of 7.2% a year from 2010 to 2025, while wages grew 3.1%. Compare the Market data show home and contents quotes in the five largest capital cities rose 14.78% in the 12 months to June.
The Resilience Ratings Scheme, which covers bushfire, offers some relief. Four insurers are cutting the bushfire component of premiums by up to 60% for customers with verified mitigation work, with total household reductions of 5% to 21%. CommBank Insurance, provided by Hollard, and NAB Insurance, provided by Allianz, have joined NRMA Insurance and Suncorp brands in the scheme. The National Emergency Management Agency has confirmed work is under way to extend it to flood, storm and cyclone.
Policy wording remains a live issue. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission issued a draft determination on Aug. 5 rejecting an ICA application to standardise definitions of “taking reasonable steps to maintain” and “wear and tear” across home insurers. The ICA had said denials tied to those exclusions rose from 9.2% of all claim denials in 2020 to 51% in 2023.
Hall said: “Insurers are looking forward to having these discussions with policy makers at our Community Resilience Week events at Parliament House this week.”
