CGU and NRMA Insurance have launched an online education resource to teach high school and tertiary business students about disaster preparedness and insurance.

The tool supports the Queensland Government’s Get Ready initiative to improve people’s preparations and responses to natural catastrophes.

The seven-page resource takes the form of a business case study called: Insurance and Weather in Australia.

CGU says the State Government approached the two companies earlier this year.

“As insurers we see the mess at the end [of a natural disaster] and it’s very much in our interest to help build insurance awareness across the community,” a spokesman said.

“The Queensland Government identified younger people as a target audience and the Department of Community Safety had done quite a bit of research on this.”

He says the resource will be promoted across Australia.

“Queensland is our target but we think it’s generic in the sense that these are the sorts of messages suited to the national curriculum for all types of schools.”

The resource quotes an Australian Business Roundtable for Disaster Resilience and Safer Communities report that found disasters cost the country more than $6 billion last year. This is forecast to double by 2030 and rise to $23 billion a year by 2050.

Another electronic document on insurance and extreme weather has been sent to all Emergency Management Queensland regional and local networks. “They will distribute it as widely as possible through the state,” the CGU spokesman said.

Queensland Community Safety Minister Jack Dempsey says he is “greatly encouraged” by the education resource. “Insurers such as CGU and NRMA Insurance can play an integral role in helping to make our communities safer and more resilient.”