More than $100 million may be available for natural disaster resilience efforts after Treasurer Scott Morrison increased funding for a national program in the budget, according to the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA).

The Government has committed $52.2 million to the National Partnership Agreement on Natural Disaster Resilience in the next financial year, up from $13.4 million this year.

Federal grants to the partnership are matched by state and territory governments, ICA says.

“ICA notes the increase in funds allocated in the federal budget towards making Australian communities and infrastructure more resilient to natural disasters,” CEO Rob Whelan said.

“More than $100 million may be available next financial year for priority projects that can reduce the impact of disasters such as bushfires, cyclones and floods.”

Natural disasters cost Australia more than $9 billion last year, and the bill is forecast to rise to an average of $33 billion by 2050.

“ICA and its members will continue making their expertise available for state and local governments, to ensure funds are spent in a manner that most effectively protects lives and properties, and helps to bring down insurance premiums,” Mr Whelan said.

Meanwhile, the National Insurance Brokers Association says brokerages are among the 870,000 companies that will benefit from the budget’s pro-business measures.

These include reducing the corporate tax to 27.5% for businesses with annual turnover below $10 million, and simplifying depreciation rules for asset purchases.

“There are a number of measures… that may help make life easier for smaller brokerages, but once again this represents an opportunity for brokers to sit down and have conversations with their clients about their business strategy and insurance programs,” association CEO Dallas Booth said.

“And with the definition of ‘small business’ being applied to businesses where the annual turnover is $10 million, there are now more opportunities for brokers with larger clients to have these discussions and to really emphasise their role as trusted adviser to clients of all sizes.”