Insurance Australia Group chief executive Nick Hawkins and his rival at Suncorp Group, Steve Johnston, this week provided investors with a reminder of how bad the country’s two biggest insurers are at estimating the financial impact of climate change.

In the half year to December, Hawkins put aside $380 million to cover natural perils, which covers cyclones, strong winds, storms, floods, hail, bushfires and other natural disasters caused by climate change.