Australia: Insurance industry responds to inquiry

In response to a parliamentary inquiry into the way insurance companies handled claims from last summer's floods and cyclones in Australia, the insurance industry calls governments to do more to lessen the impact of natural disasters on at-risk communities, as reported by the Business Spectator. Although Insurance Council of Australia chief Rob Whelan agrees with the need for a standard definition for "flood" in insurance policies, he was critical of the inquiry's failure to identify ways governments could mitigate the impact of severe weather events on at-risk communities.