Tougher planning regulations to restrict development on the “urban fringe” of cities is the best way to reduce bushfire losses.

That’s the view of Aon’s Head of APAC Analytics, Peter Cheesman, who says more homes are being built in areas where towns and cities meet the bush.

And even though requirements to make bushfire-prone buildings more resilient were introduced in 2009, he told insuranceNEWS.com.au the growth in homes “will inevitably lead to significant damage as even code-compliant homes are lost in bushfires".

Mr Cheesman says bushfire losses are yet to increase because improvements in bushfire management have run parallel to increasing exposure.

“Any gradual change in bushfire behaviour over time will be gradually factored into insurance premiums over time," he said.

“We are unlikely to see any single dramatic increase in premiums due to bushfire, and overall the specific premium associated with bushfire is quite low.”

Aon has collaborated with CSIRO to identify properties’ most important bushfire risk characteristics.

These include combustible material being stored near or under the property, proximity to ornamental shrubs, outbuildings, combustible fencing, decking or neighbouring buildings, and whether there are overhanging trees or gaps in the roof space or underfloor areas.

“A building only needs a single weak spot that allows embers to ignite combustible material either inside, on or near the building to cause ignition,” Mr Cheesman said.

“Once ignition occurs, and there are no suppression measures in place, a building often observes a total loss.”

Prolonged dry and warm conditions have led to warnings about a potentially severe bushfire season across much of Australia and even recent rainfall could backfire, Mr Cheesman warns.

“The recent rainfall we’ve seen across much of the coastal eastern states means that there is a reduced fire risk in the short term, but this also means there will be some new undergrowth in the coming weeks.

“If there is no further significant rainfall over spring, this new undergrowth will dry out and add further fuel to any bushfire.”

Global warming is expected to increase the severity and length of future fire seasons.

“Even if we stopped building new properties inside bushfire-prone areas today, the chance of fire weather is expected to gradually increase each year in many regions,” Mr Cheesman said.

“More ‘fire weather’ days each year simply means that more existing properties will be exposed to potential bushfire damage."