Suncorp Insurance
New South Wales, Tasmania, Queensland
Suncorp report shows Australia's regions face dual threats following natural disasters.
Regional communities can take years to recover economically from natural disasters with the impacts spilling over to nearby regions. The report, Economic Recovery after Disaster Strikes Volume Two, highlights the importance of rapid insurance payments and the need to protect regions from future disasters.
It models the economic impact from the Townsville floods in January 2019, the Black Summer bushfires in East Gippsland and Batemans Bay in December 2019-January 2020, and the east coast hailstorms in January 2020, and shows insurance has been crucial for restoring local economic activity.
Regional Australia faces not only an increased risk of disasters but takes longer to recover owing to a narrower economic base, with East Gippsland’s bushfire impacted economy not expected to recover until after 2022. Without insurance, the region’s economy would have permanently shrunk by 4 per cent, or almost $100 million.
