Insurers still have plenty of work to do improving claim handling, which raises concerns over implications for the next major catastrophe, the Consumer Action Law Centre says.

A Deloitte report released last week by the Insurance Council of Australia showed mixed progress acting on recommendations made by the consultancy in a review of the sector’s responses to the 2022 flooding catastrophe.

“It's encouraging that the insurance industry is showing some progress, but from what we are seeing there is a long way to go,” Consumer Action Law Centre CEO Stephanie Tonkin told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

“Outside the context of a disaster, we’re still hearing from consumers who have had shocking experiences navigating their home and contents claims. Basic consumer needs aren’t being met and we’re concerned [about] what that means for the next disaster to impact the community.”

Deloitte says substantial investment and resources have been committed by insurers, but more work is needed in areas such as communication, technology and data improvements, and some companies are lagging in upgrading systems.

ICA CEO Andrew Hall says insurers are at various points in the process, but lessons have been learnt and most insurers have been making significant improvements.

Different catastrophes bring different challenges that need to be identified as soon as possible in responding, he says.

“What we need to get better at is understanding and diagnosing aspects of every event when they occur, early, to understand what could be the outcome of things that are left unaddressed,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

“If we’ve got a supply chain shortage in a region or we’ve got problems with temporary accommodation, and that’s known early, how can we act on that and work with government authorities on solutions?”

Deloitte’s review of the Queensland and northern NSW floods in early 2022 was released in late 2023 and included a range of findings and seven recommendations. ICA is also working through recommendations from the parliamentary floods inquiry and an independent code of practice review.