Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) representatives will join Federal Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones in London and Munich this week in a high-level dialogue with global sector leaders described as the first of its kind. 

The delegation will include ICA President Nick Hawkins (IAG CEO) and CEO Andrew Hall, and board members Sue Houghton (QBE Australia Pacific CEO) and Steve Johnston (Suncorp CEO). 

Meetings will bring together the Government and local insurers with global reinsurers, brokers, insurers and industry bodies to discuss extreme weather impacts on the Australian market and premiums, and to improve understanding of issues contributing to widening protection gaps locally and around the world.

Mr Jones says the Government is focused on making insurance affordable for Australian households and businesses, especially with natural hazard events on the rise.  

"This week I will lead Australia's first international insurance delegation to London and Munich," he says on LinkedIn. "We want the global reinsurers to know about the government's program of risk reduction so this can be factored in their pricing for the Australian market." 

Mr Jones says reinsurance is a big factor in the overall cost that consumers and businesses are paying for their household and business premiums and the delegation in meeting with reinsurers will be highlighting resilience actions.

"We don't think enough consideration has been given to the steps that the Australian Government, Australian communities, Australian businesses are taking to reduce the overall risk," Mr Jones told reporters.

"We want to work with the industry to ensure that this part of the price pressure is being dealt with and being dealt with appropriately."

ICA says it’s the first time a minister has joined with Australia’s insurers, which are collectively responsible for insuring around 87 million risks annually, to engage with key participants in the global insurance sector.  

“The protection gap – the difference between the insurance we need and the insurance we have – is worsening around the world, although Australia’s exposure to frequent and significant extreme weather events makes the issue even more acute here,” Mr Hall said. 

“This issue affects all Australians and requires a shared solution with industry, government and customers all playing their part, and we warmly welcome the Assistant Treasurer’s very strong desire to help find those solutions.” 

The delegation will meet CEOs and executives from organisations including Lloyd’s, Marsh McLennan, Guy Carpenter, Aon, Munich Re, Swiss Re, UN Principles for Responsible Investment, the London Market Group, UK Government agency Flood Re, and the Association of British Insurers.  

ICA says the delegation continues the collaboration between the industry and the Federal Government following the launch of the Hazards Insurance Partnership and the creation of the $1 billion Disaster Ready Fund to support risk mitigation projects.  

“The needs of insurance customers are at the heart of this exercise because in Australia and around the world insurance is under pressure, impacting customers from small and medium-sized businesses to homeowners in areas at high risk of extreme weather, to professions who require insurance to operate,” Mr Hall said.