Home policyholders with Suncorp and NRMA Insurance will be offered premium discounts if they use a federally funded bushfire resilience app to reduce their property’s risk exposure. 

The insurers announced the discounts initiative last week as Insurance Council of Australia CEO Andrew Hall met with Emergency Services Minister Senator Murray Watt and other stakeholders to discuss steps that the industry is taking to recognise household resilience and mitigation works. 

The app measures the resilience of individual homes to local bushfire risk and more than 19,000 have used the free tool since its launch last October by the Resilient Building Council. 

About 6600 households have taken at least four actions recommended by the app, investing an estimated $44 million in resilient home improvements, according to the council. 

Policyholders who complete the app’s bushfire resilience rating assessment and strengthen their properties’ defences accordingly will be given discounted premiums. 

Suncorp and NRMA Insurance say a bushfire resilience rating certification of three stars or more through the app will qualify policyholders for discounts. 

Mr Hall says the app empowers individuals to improve the resilience of their homes, paving the way for a more resilient Australia. 

“Getting this right means Australians can not only protect their home from the full extent of possible damage, but it has the potential to reduce insurance premiums too,” he said in a LinkedIn post. 

“By prioritising resilience in our homes, we pave the way for building a more resilient Australia – but we need to keep the momentum going.” 

He says the Insurance Council looks forward to seeing an expansion of the app’s resilience rating tool to include other threats like flood and cyclone.