REIA HAILS REINSURANCE POOL DESIGN AS A WIN FOR HOME OWNERS AND RENTERS

February 8th,2022

Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) has welcomed the Federal Government’s finalisation of the design of the reinsurance pool for cyclone and related flood damage.

REIA President, Hayden Groves, said REIA has been lobbying the government to back the reinsurance pool to protect the many Australians who have lost homes due to natural disasters.

“Insurance premiums in northern Queensland have been on average nearly 2.7 times higher than elsewhere.

“It is therefore welcome that the reinsurance pool pricing reflects homeowners in northern Australia who are expected to benefit from up to a 46 per cent premium discounts.

“This should also assist with continuing to stabilise rental affordability in these regions with Government modelling anticipating insurance premiums will be reduced by up to $2.9 billion over the next 10 years.

“In addition, strata properties may achieve up to a 58 per cent discount and with SMEs up to a 34 per cent discount which will benefit real estate agencies themselves who are embedded throughout Northern Australian communities.”

Over 880,000 residential, strata and small business property insurance policies in northern Australia are expected to be eligible to be covered by the reinsurance pool for the risk of cyclone and related flood damage.

The reinsurance pool will be backed by a $10 billion annually reinstated Commonwealth guarantee and be administered by the Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation from 1 July 2022.

REIA’s 2021 Mega Trends Report identified decarbonisation and climate adaption as one of nine critical future factors for Australia’s real estate agencies and consumers.

REIA’s full Sustainable Real Estate agenda can be viewed here.