A storm is brewing for insurers even before Cyclone Alfred smashes into the coast

The consumer watchdog’s conclusion was that premiums remain very high for many consumers and are generally rising nationally, and insurance affordability remains a key concern in many communities.

It is this lack of affordability, coupled with a cost-of-living crisis, that has put pressure on households to ditch insurance.

According to research done by comparison website Finder.com.au, more than one in four (27 per cent) Queenslanders lack home and contents insurance.

Home insurance premiums have climbed by 50 per cent in high-risk parts of Australia in the year to March 2024 as global warming increases the frequency and cost of climate disasters, according to an Actuaries Institute report last year. Its research on home insurance affordability and funding for flood costs found median home insurance premiums rose by 28 per cent in the year to March 2024, sitting at an average of $1894 across all states.

For high-risk properties, including those in flood-prone areas, premiums were up by half.

There is a certain air of inevitability about the insurance industry PR disaster about to unfold because regardless of what happens in the cyclone, there will always be under-insured households. There will also be horror stories of people that sought but were denied insurance in the days leading up to Alfred’s onslaught.

Insurance companies understandably want to avoid people without insurance signing up when the cyclone is about to hit, getting a payout then cancelling their policy, so some place an embargo on new policies in the lead-up to an event.

However, people who have just acquired a new property risk getting caught in this insurance moratorium.

And then there is a longer tail of public relations damage that insurers can be hit with if they use legal technicalities to avoid paying claims and social media screens become awash with disenfranchised customers.

Before there has even been a drop of rain or a gust of wind, there are clouds gathering for plenty of stakeholders.

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