Australia classifies insurers as emergency responders

The Insurance Council of Australia welcomed the updated protocol for insurers.

The Emergency Management Australia (EMA) has updated its disaster response protocol, which now classifies insurers’ disaster response personnel as emergency responders.

The update protocol has been adopted by all states, territories, and the Commonwealth Government of Emergency Management Australia.

Under the protocol, the general insurer’s disaster response personnel—including assessors, loss adjusters, and claims specialists—would expedite the movement of personnel.

The Insurance Council of Australia has repeatedly been calling for an update for disaster response as some pandemic-related protocols such as a 14-day quarantine would cause a delay in assessing property and casualty damages.

ICA said that it welcomes the adoption of the updated disaster response protocol.

“The adoption of the protocol will assist communities to access more timely and consistent help from insurers in the crucial period immediately after a disaster, however, more can be done to further expedite the movement of responders across state borders,” ICA said.