ANU Disaster Solutions Update 2024 - Who pays for disasters and how?

Who pays for disasters and how?

Climate change is no longer a future threat but a present reality. In Australia, recent disasters have cost households and the insurance industry billions. Government responses such as buy-back schemes also come with a hefty price tag, while ordinary people have seen premiums soar, sometimes out of reach. This is a complex challenge. Already Australians are not able to obtain insurance and a majority of insurance premiums are skyrocketing. The current tools available for financing recovery and mitigating risks are insufficient to address the scale of the issue. As climate-driven disasters become more frequent and severe, the need to protect lives and livelihoods through insurance and funding resilience, has never been greater.

The 2024 ANU Disaster Solutions Update will present the latest research and innovative solutions in disaster finance. It will explore strategies for building resilience, prevention and recovery, and the role of communities, government and the private sector. 

The event will be critical for any policy makers and disaster risk reduction practitioners; insurance industry professionals; NGOs, practitioners and volunteers working in disaster risk reduction, preparedness and response; community-leaders, groups and members; and the wider disaster management community. 

PROGRAM 

10 - 10.30am: Introduction and Keynote address

• The Hon Stephen Jones MP, Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services
  Keynote address

10.30am - 11.45am: Funding a resilient Australia

• Brendan Moon AM, Coorindator-General, National Emergency Management Agency
• Associate Professor Roslyn Prinsley, Head of Disaster Solutions, ANU Institute for Climate, Energy & Disaster Solutions 
  Transformational disaster solutions
• Kate Simmonds, Advisor, Physical Risk and Resilience, Investor Group on Climate Change
  Funding for resilience
• Professor Mark Howden, Director and Head of Climate, ANU Institute for Climate, Energy & Disaster Solutions; Vice-Chair, Working Group II, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 
  Moderator

11:45am - 12.15pm: Light lunch

12.15 - 1.30pm: Closing the insurance protection gap

• Andrew Hall, Chief Executive Officer, Insurance Council of Australia 
  The insurance protection gap: a global crisis 
• Professor Paula Jarzabkowski, Professor in Strategy, School of Business, University of Queensland
  Disaster insurance reimagined
• Associate Professor Caroline Schuster, School of Archaeology and Anthropology, ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences
  Social impacts of alternative insurance approaches

More information:

• This is a hybrid event with the option to attend in-person at The Australian National University. Light refreshments will be provided for in-person participants.
• The event will be recorded and made available online. 
• Please click here for more information on getting to our events.
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