Suncorp says it has started strengthening its insurance offering after the $4.9 billion sale of its bank to ANZ in July.

“With the bank sale complete, where to from here? … we’re wasting no time in getting on with delivering on our refreshed strategic plan, which underpins our future as an insurance-focused business,” CEO Steve Johnston told last week’s annual general meeting.

“We will continue to focus on growing our home, motor, commercial, personal injury and New Zealand portfolios, while digitising our business and investing in our market-leading brands.”

He said the insurer is also modernising its product and people platforms, deploying artificial intelligence in a measured way and testing innovative reinsurance solutions.

“This is core to building a sustainable and growing insurance business.”

Mr Johnston said efforts to prepare Australia for extreme weather must be a priority for politicians, with a federal election expected in the first half of next year.

“That includes investing more in resilience infrastructure, in supporting homeowners in reducing their own risks, and stopping building homes where they should never have been built.

“I’m particularly concerned that in the rush to address the current housing shortages, the mistakes of the past will be repeated, putting a new generation of our citizens in harm’s way.”

Insurance tax reform must also be a priority for the next federal government, he said.

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