The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) will launch a mobile app next month, enabling residents to check their property’s exposure to natural hazards and increasing pricing transparency.

ICA President Richard Enthoven told last night’s Annual Dinner the MyHazards initiative will give consumers access to vital data, and reduce “information asymmetry” between insurers and their customers.

Residents will be able to enter address details to access the latest government information about hazards potentially affecting their property.

The ICA had previously published similar information on its Dataglobe website, but this is the first time it has been made available to the general public.

“This [hazard] information is a guide only and does not include confidential or commercially sensitive underwriting data,” Mr Enthoven said.

“It does, however, give the community access to important information that is used by our industry to price insurance in a format that is easy to understand.

“And, it responds in a meaningful way to the community’s call for more transparency in insurance pricing.

“Finally it empowers consumers to understand their risks and ask questions about mitigation and resilience.”

Mr Enthoven told the audience that ICA wants to “take a proactive leadership position” on climate change.

“The ICA’s goal is to play a thought-leadership role in the transition of our nation to a low-carbon economy by sending a price signal about unacceptable risks and working with governments to help reduce risks through improving the built environment,” he said.

“This strategy will also assist our member companies to manage the increasing risks to their businesses associated with climate change.

“We will continue to urge governments to take action in ways that benefit communities through investments in mitigation and resilience.”

Mr Enthoven says ICA will launch a new climate change website to raise awareness of industry developments.

“The ICA is also taking its own steps to reduce our climate footprint and will ensure it is carbon neutral by 2021,” he said.

MyHazards will be available from the Apple Store early next month.