Allianz Direct Home Insurance now available in new areas across Northern QLD and WA, after joining the Cyclone Reinsurance Pool

• Allianz’s Home and Landlord insurance is now available directly in new areas across Northern Queensland and Western Australia, increasing competition in those areas
• Allianz was the first insurer to announce that it would enter the Federal Government-backed Cyclone Reinsurance Pool (CRP) from 1 January 2023
• Thousands of Northern Australian policy holders living in high cyclone risk areas will now benefit from lower home and contents insurance premiums, arising from Allianz’s participation in the CRP

Allianz Australia’s Home Insurance and Landlord Insurance products are now available direct to consumers¹ in areas of Northern Queensland and Western Australia² where they weren’t previously, following Allianz joining the Federal Government-backed Cyclone Reinsurance Pool (CRP). This includes over 100 new postcodes³, including major towns and cities in Queensland including Cairns, Townsville and Mackay, and in Western Australia, Broome and Karratha.

Allianz Australia is the first major insurer to enter the CRP – a Federal government-backed, reinsurance facility operated by the Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation (ARPC). The CRP has been introduced with the aim to lower insurance premiums for home, strata, and small business policyholders with high cyclone and related flood risk by reducing the cost of reinsurance for insurers, which is a significant cost component of property insurance premiums in Northern Australia.

Allianz Australia, Managing Director, Richard Feledy said, “At Allianz, we believe that the accessibility and affordability of insurance is critically important. Given the increasing severity and/or frequency of extreme weather, coupled with rising inflation, the need for premium relief in communities exposed to cyclones and associated flooding is timely.”

“Allianz welcomes the additional investment the Federal Government is making through the Disaster Ready Fund to enhance the resilience of communities to natural catastrophes, and we also look forward to continuing to engage with the Government through the recently established Hazard Insurance Partnership and other avenues. Allianz’s participation in the CRP has enabled us to expand the sale of household insurance directly to customers in Northern Queensland and Western Australia, and inject more competition into those markets. Allianz has put in place an accelerated program of work to transfer our householders portfolio to the CRP as soon as possible and looks forward to extending the benefits of the CRP to our small business and residential strata portfolios in the future.”

Renewal notices for existing policyholders with premiums that reflect the impact of the CRP started being sent to customers from mid November 2022 for policy periods that commenced from 1 January 2023. Customers are not required to take any action to benefit from Allianz’s participation in the CRP. Allianz has conducted an analysis of the potential impact of the CRP for home insurance customers, which is broadly consistent with modelling undertaken by the ARPC.

The Pool is just one in a suite of measures needed to address the availability and affordability of property insurance in Northern Australia and aims to be complemented by other measures to help mitigate against, and adapt to, the risk of cyclones and flooding. This includes, allowing Allianz Direct Home and Landlord customers to pay monthly at no extra cost⁴ when they buy or renew their insurance⁵.

For more information on the Cyclone Reinsurance Pool, please visit the Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation website, and for more information on Allianz Home Insurance products, please visit the Allianz Australia website.