Insurers still want a seat on the Federal Government’s new business roundtable on climate change, despite having been ignored by Treasury.

The only financial services representatives are the National Australia Bank and the Investor Group on Climate Change, which represents a number of major fund managers and superannuation funds.

Zurich and Suncorp have expressed concern about the lack of representation at the roundtable and would accept if invited to attend.

Zurich Financial Services Australia CEO David Smith told insuranceNEWS.com.au today the industry should be represented.

“The general insurance industry should have a voice and an active role in the Government’s climate roundtable,” he said

A Suncorp spokesman says the insurer “has the management expertise to make an important contribution to the roundtable”.

“The group would be pleased to provide a representative if invited,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

An IAG spokesman told insuranceNEWS.com.au it will be represented at the roundtable by the Business Council of Australia.

But what about the insurers’ peak body, the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA)?

An ICA spokesman told insuranceNEWS.com.au the council is focusing more on improving the Building Code of Australia to see better construction techniques rather than climate change.

“The key word here is resilience, and ICA is working with government, most notably through the Council of Australian Governments’ National Resilience Strategy to improve the Building Code of Australia to prevent construction of brittle buildings,” the spokesman said.

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