The Greater Sydney area faces the greatest flood impact risk in the country and mitigation should be a priority, Suncorp CEO Patrick Snowball has warned.

“The risk is highest here because of the growing population concentration on the doorstep of the Hawkesbury and Nepean [river] catchments,” he told a Trans Tasman Business Circle meeting in Sydney last week.

“These areas are high-risk flood zones, and the Warragamba Dam currently offers little ability to regulate water flow in flood. This has to be high on our agenda for mitigation.”

Mr Snowball says investment in better understanding of risk, potential impact and mitigation options should be a priority.

Increasing natural risk and rising recovery costs have pushed up premiums, which can lead to underinsurance or non-insurance and more costs pushed onto the taxpayer.

“The only way to genuinely and sustainably tackle this issue is through mitigation of natural disasters and sensible planning and development.”

Mr Snowball says Suncorp knew withdrawing cover from Roma and Emerald in Queensland would be unpopular “and we’ve taken a lot of flak”, but it contributed to construction of a levee and premiums will fall when this is completed.

Better building standards and sharing data about risk will mitigate the impact of cyclones, protecting people from harm and reducing insurance costs, he says.