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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Luca Ittimani

At $4.5bn each year, extreme weather is costing Australia three times as much compared with 1990s, insurers say

Fallen tree crashed through the window of a house
A house on Queensland’s Gold Coast damaged by Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred in March 2025. The event was declared an insurance catastrophe, on of three this year. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

The costs of extreme weather events such as floods, bushfires and storms have nearly tripled in Australia since the 1990s, insurers have warned, with poorer communities disproportionately burdened.

The climate crisis, ageing infrastructure and growing populations in increasingly affected regions have left the country more vulnerable, according to a report released on Tuesday by the Insurance Council of Australia.

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