The board overseeing the new cyclone reinsurance pool should include policyholder representation from the Queensland region targeted by the new scheme, Northern Australia Insurance Lobby (NAIL) Co-Chairman Margaret Shaw says.

She told insuranceNEWS.com.au there is still a lack of understanding about issues affecting consumers in the cyclone-affected regions, and the perspective of people dealing with the problems is critical.

“How can you deal with the model and the solution, when you don’t understand the problems? The board should have somebody from north Queensland.”

NAIL has been pushing for stronger representation from the region throughout the process of establishing the pool, which will be administered by the Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation (ARPC).

Ms Shaw says insurance issues affecting strata properties, including definitions and the way they are treated, are key points where local input is important.

The Treasury triennial review of the ARPC last year recommended that additional cyclone insurance expertise should be added to the board, as the authority expands its mandate beyond terrorism.

“The Government should appoint a new board member(s) who is experienced with the insurance pressures facing residents of cyclone-prone areas,” it said.

Federal Parliament passed the cyclone reinsurance pool legislation at the end of March, paving the way for it to commence from the beginning of July.