Brokers have joined insurers in welcoming the Northern Australia Insurance Premiums Taskforce’s focus on mitigation to tackle affordability concerns.

National Insurance Brokers Association (NIBA) CEO Dallas Booth, who is on the taskforce reference panel, told insuranceNEWS.com.au it is “asking all the right questions and gathering all the right information”.

The taskforce was set up to investigate whether a mutual cyclone insurer or cyclone reinsurance pool would help make premiums more affordable.

But insurers have welcomed the fact its interim report, released last week, also contains a significant section on the benefits of mitigation.

Submissions can be lodged until September 14, with the taskforce expected to complete its final report by the end of November.

“We’ve been banging the drum on mitigation just as loudly as the Insurance Council of Australia and the insurers,” Mr Booth said. “We are now in the process of consulting with our members before putting in a submission. Our north Queensland members have great knowledge in this area.”

IAG says a targeted subsidy would be the most efficient form of assistance.

“The most effective way to reduce premiums in northern Australia and specifically north Queensland is through a nationally co-ordinated disaster resilience program that reduces the impact of natural hazards and extreme weather events,” CEO Personal Insurance Andy Cornish said.

“However, a nationally co-ordinated disaster resilience program will take time, so a targeted subsidy is a potentially viable short-term alternative.”

He recognises insurance costs in the region have risen due to increasingly frequent and severe weather events.

But he believes government intervention “should be focused on reducing vulnerability through land use planning, building codes and better funding for mitigation and retrofitting, not by becoming the insurer of last resort”.