This report examines the escalating crisis of insurance affordability and availability in the face of climate change. The report looks at the devastating impacts of climate-driven disasters on individuals, businesses, and communities, with rising insurance premiums and, in some cases, the complete unavailability of insurance coverage exacerbating these impacts. 

The report provides eight key recommendations aimed at tackling this multifaceted crisis, urging greater government intervention, industry reform, and investment in mitigation and resilience measures.

Recommendations

1. Establish and maintain a national disaster risk map and database which is accessible to the public. 
2. Require insurance companies to provide policyholders with a sufficient breakdown and explanation of insurance premium costs, including price changes in response to resilience and disaster mitigation measures undertaken by the policyholder. 
3. The Treasurer issue a Ministerial Direction to require the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to monitor premium prices across Australia and to publish its monitoring reports on a quarterly basis on its website. 
4. The Australian Government pursue the abolition of general taxes on insurance.
5. Expand the Cyclone Reinsurance Pool to cover all natural disasters, taking into account lessons learned from the current pool and incorporating incentives for insurance companies to invest in disaster mitigation and resilience measures.
6. Increase the Disaster Ready Fund to $400 million per annum for investment in disaster mitigation and resilience measures. 
7. Pursue the matter of land use and planning laws, including the feasibility of prohibiting future development in high-risk areas, through the Housing and Homelessness Ministerial Council.
8. Develop options for a levy on coal and gas extraction companies, based on the annual energy content they have extracted, from which the funds raised would be invested in disaster mitigation and resilience measures, and the cost of rising insurance.