A smarter approach to retrofitting old homes for cyclone and storm resilience will prevent losses and save owners money, an emergency services conference has heard.

Insurers, homeowners, councils and builders must be part of the process, James Cook University Cyclone Testing Station director David Henderson told the AFAC14 conference in Wellington last week.

He says older housing can be at risk due to lack of maintenance and normal wear and tear.

“We need to look at economic and non-intrusive ways of improving the performance of our housing – not just in cyclone regions,” Dr Henderson told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

Instead of expecting older housing to be upgraded to current codes, he advocates levels of improvement.

“We can be smarter and look at different ways of improving the resilience of our housing.”

Homeowners need more information on what they can do, and insurers should be prepared to give premium relief to those who take action.

Installing storm shutters is one fairly straightforward step, and if an owner is thinking of replacing their roof they should also build in wind-resistance measures.