Insurers met Assistant Treasurer and Financial Services Minister Stephen Jones and other MPs last week as part of discussions between industry and government on critical issues such as affordability and increasing regulatory demands.

The Insurance Council of Australia arranged the event for “mid-tier” insurers such as Youi, Auto & General and the state-based motoring mutuals. While giants such as IAG and Suncorp are in regular contact with government, such opportunities are less common for insurers at the next level down.

“Thanks to the ICA for co-ordinating meetings with [the Assistant Treasurer] and other members of parliament to discuss how the industry and government can work together to help keep insurance affordable for Australians,” RAA Insurance CEO and ICA board member Tara Page wrote on LinkedIn.

“It’s certainly a challenging time for the insurance industry. Supply chain pressures, inflation, reinsurance costs and skills shortages, together with more frequent and severe weather events, have created a perfect storm – these issues are affecting all insurers, and our customers.

“While there’s no silver bullet, governments and policymakers have an important role to play to build more resilience and natural disaster mitigation measures into public policy.”

The government recently announced the formation of its Insurance Affordability and Natural Hazards Risk Reduction Taskforce, although last week’s meeting was not related to the taskforce.

“Our ongoing engagement with government is essential to reducing the growing protection gap, so together we can all participate in the solution and play our respective roles in mitigating risks and ensuring the strength and sustainability of our sector,” ICA said.