Greenwell Point insurance premiums to increase, ABC data reveals the economic impact climate change

In the Shoalhaven, Greenwell Point residents will be hit the hardest by insurance premium increases.

By 2060 insurance premiums in Greenwell Point will have risen by over 200 per cent and by 2100 by almost 350 per cent. About 9 per cent of addressees in Greenwell Point will be uninsurable by 2050 but this is predicted to sharply rise by 2100 to 57 per cent of addressees becoming uninsurable.

But Greenwell Point residents have already experienced problems with increasing insurance premiums, back in 2014 one resident on Adelaide Street had their premium jump from $1057 to $5059.

Other suburbs in the Shoalhaven that will experience the highest increase in premiums by 2100 include Coolangatta, Yatte Yattah, Terara and Orient Point.

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Director of Cities Power Partnership, a local government climate network, David Craven said the data provided much-needed transparency.

"As this new data shows, many Australian communities are incredibly vulnerable to climate impacts. In many areas, people's homes could soon become effectively uninsurable," he said

"With no credible Federal climate policy in sight, this shows why State and local governments need to develop an urgent plan for both adaptation for impacts that are unavoidable, and plans to drive down the greenhouse gas emissions."

Campbell Fuller, Head of Communications and Media Relations at the Insurance Council of Australia, said no area of Australia should be uninsurable.

"Claims that parts of Australia will inevitably become uninsurable or unaffordable due to climate change fail to recognise that mitigation and adaptation can prevent some of the worst impacts of extreme weather," Mr Fuller said.

"No area of Australia should be uninsurable, provided governments invest appropriately in permanent mitigation and resilience measures to protect communities from known and projected risks, including the impact of climate change."

"Insurance is risk-rated and remains competitive in all regions. Sending a price signal to high-risk areas is an important part of insurance."