Monash University will hold roundtables on climate change-linked extreme weather and the impact on communities, covering challenges around adaptation and insurance.

Panellists at this Thursday’s session will discuss flood risk and the adequacy of storm water systems. Another meeting next month will focus on risk management and insurance.

The roundtables are part of the Monash Business School’s Living with 2 Degrees Plus seminar series, featuring experts from Australia and overseas discussing ways to manage and adapt to climate change.

Michael Spencer, an adjunct senior research fellow at the school, says in an article today that insurance costs are a proxy for loss and damage associated with climate change.

“Extreme weather events – the most obvious being floods, fire, storm surges, hurricanes, etc – are major drivers of loss and damage and rising insurance costs,” he writes.

The article says the financial toll of extreme weather is becoming more apparent as rising premiums add to living-cost pressures. Australian Bureau of Statistics inflation data shows insurance costs increased 11% last year, outpacing the 2.4% rise in the consumer price index.

Dr Spencer told insuranceNEWS.com.au Australians are now “very conscious of their insurance policies, and I think they’re starting to hear it more and more ... in the wake of the Los Angeles fires. People are hearing that [it] could impact their insurance policies as well.”

He says with the way premiums have increased, “you don’t talk about climate and cost of living separately any more. They are connected issues because insurance is a major driver of increases in the cost of living, and extreme events are a major driver in insurance premiums.”

Dr Spencer says everyone has a “shared interest” in tackling climate challenges – from communities to governments and insurers.

“There’s no doubt people are concerned when they’re paying very high premiums and they’re seeing profitable insurance businesses, and the industry knows that causes people concern.

“That’s not surprising, but I think, because the industry has significant challenges … they’ve been cut off from sections of a market they’d like to be selling insurance policies to, but the risks are too high for them… we all have a shared interest in finding better ways to manage climate risks. And I’d love to work more closely with the industry.”

See details of Thursday’s roundtable, to be hosted on Zoom, here.