National approach to disaster relief needed during Covid

Insurers are seeking a streamlined process for moving claims assessors, disaster recovery specialists, builders and tradies in a Covid-safe way to undertake essential repairs.

A call to move insurance aid faster during the pandemic restrictions. Above, part of the devastation caused by ex-tropical cyclone Seroja after it crossed over the West Australian town of Kalbarri earlier this year. Picture: Grahame Kelaher

It is estimated that more than nine million Australians have been affected by a natural disaster or extreme weather event over the past 30 years, and Australians are five times more likely to be displaced by a natural disaster than someone living in Europe.

Responding to natural disasters is in our DNA. To pull together and help each other rebuild and recover are celebrated characteristics of being Australian.

Resilience is not just a current policy trend, it’s a national attribute.

Over the past 12 months, many communities across Australia have had that resilience severely tested.

Since October 2020 there have been five declared insurance catastrophes that have given rise to 134,000 claims totalling $2.28bn, according to the Insurance Council of Australia’s Insurance Catastrophe Resilience Report: 2020-21, being released on Wednesday.

But as if fire, flood, storms, cyclones and hail were not enough, many thousands have had to recover from such events within the context of a global pandemic and the impacts of lockdowns or lockouts by states in response.

Over the past decade, insurers have worked hard to develop a world-class response to natural disasters in Australia. Indeed, following the devastating bushfires of 2019, thousands of claims and cases were settled faster than ever before.

Natural disasters usually result in a surge of claims beyond the capacity of local workforces to respond. In Australia, we have a system of national insurers who can mobilise a workforce and expertise to the locations in need.

However, the limited access to interstate trades due to Covid-19 restrictions and border closures is causing significant challenges for insurers working to help their customers recover.

This has already led to uncertainty and setbacks for families trying to get their lives back to normal.

On Halloween last year, the community of Springfield Lakes in southeast Queensland was hit by a hailstorm. The storm lasted just minutes yet caused more than $1bn in damage.

An exodus of overseas labour, and Queensland’s off-and-on border restrictions, coupled with high demand in the building and renovation market, have left a critical shortage of qualified tradies available to complete this work.

In Western Australia, the clean-up from Cyclone Seroja in April and an unusual number of subsequent extreme weather events has put local tradies and builders under pressure. WA’s ongoing border closures have meant that, until recently, insurers were unable to bring in extra help from eastern states.

As the nation moves to vaccinate the population and provide greater freedoms, we are racing also against the seasonal clock as the threat of natural disasters returns.

In our land of drought and flooding rains, it is an absolute certainty that in coming months communities somewhere will again be affected by nature’s extreme forces.

Floods and fires do not respect state borders. As it is likely that restrictions will remain in place for the remainder of the year, it is essential that a national framework is agreed now so border restrictions do not unnecessarily add to the pain of those devastated by a natural disaster this spring and summer.

When a catastrophe strikes, affected communities can’t afford to wait precious days or weeks for state authorities to work out under what rules essential emergency services workers and insurers need to follow to gain access.

This is why the ICA in its catastrophe resilience report has called for state and federal governments to urgently adopt a national approach to the movement of essential recovery personnel across state borders.

Insurers are seeking a streamlined process for border restrictions that will enable them to move claims assessors, disaster recovery specialists, builders and tradies in a Covid-safe way between and within states and territories to undertake essential repairs and rebuilds.

We appreciate the need for restrictions to mitigate health risks. However, these must be balanced against the needs of those requiring critical and urgent repairs to their properties that will enable them to pick up their lives and move on.

The Insurance Council has written to state and territory leaders and the Prime Minister calling for a nationally consistent approach to this issue to be discussed and agreed at national cabinet.

Without a nationally consistent framework for essential repair work and essential workers, when – not if – a natural disaster occurs in coming months, communities will be wondering just how far their celebrated Aussie resilience can be tested.

Andrew Hall.

Andrew Hall is CEO of the Insurance Council of Australia