Extreme weather risks and climate change could almost double home insurance premiums and cut at least 20% off property values in some exposed areas over a 30-year mortgage, according to research by analysts Climate Risk.

The study, commissioned by the Climate Institute and consumer group Choice, assessed premiums and cover availability across Australia.

It used five insurability risk indicators and applied high-end climate change projections until 2050 to forecast future policy costs.

“Climate and extreme weather impacts add to Australians’ cost of living, with homeowners and buyers often unwittingly caught between failures by governments and the marketplace to reveal information about current risks and how they are projected to worsen,” Climate Institute CEO John Connor said.

The report highlights current coverage problems in high-risk areas and warns inadequate planning controls and hazards data may lull home-buyers into a false sense of security.

The report calls on governments and the insurance industry to make more data available.

Consumers are urged to check online policy quotations for insurability risk indicators such as the level and availability of cover and pricing signals.

“We think the insurance industry can do more to inform homeowners about climate risk and how it affects premiums,” Choice CEO Alan Kirkland said.

Insurance Council of Australia spokesman Campbell Fuller says a number of industry projects are under way to improve understanding of local issues, and the council supports greater government disclosure of risk-related data.

“This really is about making sure consumers are made aware of the risks they face in their particular area, and that is entirely common sense,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

“Insurers send the biggest signal to consumers through price.”

He says long-term climate change is not priced by insurers, while hazards data used in underwriting is often owned by third parties.

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