The Federal Government is still looking at a Commonwealth-funded reinsurance cyclone pool for northern Australia, but it has not ruled out other options as a three-year inquiry into the region’s premium affordability problem nears completion.

Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar, who pushed the industry some nine months ago to investigate if a reinsurance pool would work, appears to be waiting for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to submit its final report, which is due by November 30.

He had made clear last year he was not going to wait for the ACCC to finish its three-year probe into the insurance problems facing residents in northern Australia.

However, an update from his office on the progress of the feasibility study for a cyclone pool indicates the Government is now waiting for the ACCC report before deciding on the next course of action.

“The Government is still considering a number of options that can be explored to realise insurance premium reductions and increases in insurance coverage in the region,” a spokesman for Mr Sukkar told insuranceNEWS.com.au. “The third and final ACCC report is due to the Treasurer on 30 November 2020.”

Insurance Council of Australia spokesman Campbell Fuller says the industry has already provided the Government with information, as was agreed at a Townsville meeting last year with Mr Sukkar.

“Insurers remain committed to reflecting the effectiveness of mitigation and property resilience through premium reductions,” Mr Campbell told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

“Insurers also completed and submitted the preliminary work with Government and Treasury to explore the feasibility and potential effectiveness of a government-funded cyclone reinsurance pool.”