Insurance Council of Australia representatives are about to embark on a series of roadshows around the country to update insurers and loss specialists about the risks posed by the upcoming bushfire and northern Australia wet season.

GM Risk and Disaster Planning Karl Sullivan says the events are “refreshers” to update the industry on this season’s risk and claims outlook.

He says bushfire risks west of the Great Dividing Range are higher, with the main risk to grasslands and farmlands in Queensland, NSW and Victoria.

The bushfire risk has increased due to the heavy rains that accompanied the strong La Nina pattern last summer, leading to increased growth and fuel loads.

But forecasters are not predicting a repeat of last season’s flooding.

The Bureau of Meteorology says that while steady cooling of the central Pacific Ocean since early winter has increased the chance of La Nina returning during the last quarter of 2011, “if a La Nina does form, current indicators are that it will be weaker than the strong 2010/11 event”.

“La Nina events raise the odds of above average rainfall across the north and east of the country, but don’t guarantee it,” the bureau says, while observations from the Indian Ocean point to an increased chance of below-average rainfall over southeastern and central Australia.

But Mr Sullivan says regardless of a La Nina event, the annual risk of cyclones and flooding affecting far north Queensland remains.