Pre-emptive buybacks to move residential properties from high risk locations should be considered as a resilience measure following the introduction of the post-flood schemes in Queensland and NSW, the World Insurance Congress Australia (WICA) has heard.

Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) COO Kylie Macfarlane says Northern Rivers and southeast Queensland programs introduced after last year’s record flooding are a “great step forward” and could pave the way for further action.

“What we need to see in future is that those schemes are funded so they become pre-emptive buyback schemes, so that councils and government are actually thinking about where their most at-risk communities are and how they help those communities move out of harm’s way,” she said.

Ms Macfarlane says that the economic model needs to shift from recovery to mitigation and resilience, which requires investing in the front end of the problem.

“We are not talking about buying back every beachfront house in Australia, we’re talking about the most at-risk houses in communities where buyback is actually the only option left,” she told the conference.

Ms Macfarlane says ICA and the National Emergency Management Agency and Australian Climate Service are working on identification of high risk areas and the Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation, which runs the new cyclone pool, is also contributing data as part of the process.

“If we can baseline Australia’s national hazard and climate risk, then we can start to have sensible conversations around where, and what locations, there needs to be intervention,” she said.

The ICA is also pushing for strengthened building codes and standards, while facing some building sector pushback over increased costs for homeowners.

James Cook University Cyclone Testing Station Senior Research Engineer Geoff Broughton says it could cost thousands of dollars to build in resilience for a new home, but tens of thousands for a major upgrade to an existing property and without the measures it could cost hundreds of thousands to rebuild after major damage.

Mr Broughton said resilience rating systems could help empower building owners to carry out mitigation work tailored to their property’s vulnerabilities, but expense remained an issue.

“That is going to require some government funding in order to assist with the high cost of upgrading existing buildings, regardless of the peril, whether it’s earthquake wind or fire,” he said.

The Cyclone Testing Station’s work has included looking at resilience risks associated with the increased uptake of solar panels amid the shift to cleaner energy, with research after Cyclone Ilsa highlighting issues for roofs at the installation location and the potential for other damage.

“Once a 10 kilogram or 20 kilogram solar panel gets free it becomes a lethal bit of wind-borne debris destroying another building, so it is a serious problem,” he said.

The Australian Insurance Law Association hosted the International Association for Insurance Law (AIDA) event at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. 

The three-day conference featured a number of panel sessions that looked at the key themes of conflict, climate, ESG and innovation.