The Senate inquiry into the general insurance industry has come out strongly in favour of increased disaster mitigation spending.

As reported in a Breaking News bulletin last week, the Economics References Committee published its final report featuring 15 recommendations.

The report says there is “an urgent need” for governments to invest in targeted disaster mitigation and calls on the Federal Government to reconsider its response to the Productivity Commission’s inquiry, which called for increased mitigation spending of $200 million per year.

The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has welcomed the comments.

“ICA agrees the Federal Government should reconsider its response to the Productivity Commission,” CEO Rob Whelan said.

“Investing at least $200 million a year in mitigation and resilience should be treated as nation-building that protects vulnerable communities for generations.”

Other recommendations in the report include a detailed investigation into a “simplified” insurance comparison tool, and an independent review of the standard cover regime.

See ANALYSIS.