Australian insurers and California’s Department of Insurance will work together on common challenges such as disaster resilience and climate risks under a partnership agreement.

The Insurance Council of Australia announced the agreement today in California following a wildfire and flood summit in the US state’s capital city Sacramento.

ICA and the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia are leading a delegation of industry executives and government officials on a working visit to the US.

“An enduring insurance sector partnership will be established. The Insurance Council of Australia and California Department of Insurance committed to a historic climate and resilience partnership between industries, based on our common climate risks, to build a shared view of growing risks and solutions,” the partners said in a joint communique.

The communique says “unique” partnerships are needed to tackle global challenges.

Over the past decade, Australia and California have experienced devastating extreme weather events at significant cost to lives and property.

“As a result of climate change, both jurisdictions are expecting longer and more ferocious fire seasons and intensifying flooding, which will leave more communities further impacted by disaster and widen the insurance protection gap,” the communique said.

“Combined with the growing value of assets, expanding cities and inflation, this has placed great strain on the insurance sectors in both jurisdictions, worsening insurance availability in areas at high risk of extreme weather.”

At the summit, it was agreed that Australia and California can build global best practice in disaster preparedness, response and resilience.

The summit highlighted the important role of shared firefighting resources across hemispheres, which are increasingly strained as disaster seasons overlap.

ICA CEO Andrew Hall says the delegation had “excellent” discussions at the summit, covering risks including fires, floods, convective storms and earthquakes.

“We will build on these relationships with California in particular,” he said on LinkedIn.