Josh Frydenberg has demanded insurers provide Treasury with an unprecedented level of detail about claims for bushfire property losses, a proposal the industry doubts is feasible.
The demand was outlined in a draft letter circulated to insurers on Thursday by the Insurance Council of Australia, which outlined 38 pieces of information about individual claims that Frydenberg wants provided to Treasury, including street address, the year the building was constructed and the amount for which the property was insured.
Total insurance claims for Australia’s bushfire season have climbed towards $1bn, with more to come as damage is assessed and fires continue to threaten.
The demand would require insurers to continue to provide information for months or years, because Frydenberg is also seeking detailed data on the settlement of claims, including when rebuilding works are approved by local authorities and when cash payments are made.
Insurers currently provide only aggregated data about total claims of various types to the ICA, which uses the information to maintain a catastrophes database.
Frydenberg has not asked for information about insurance of motor vehicles or for business interruption, which typically also generate heavy claims during catastrophes such as bushfires.
Guardian Australia understands insurers were given until the close of business on Friday to respond to the Treasurer’s demands.
An ICA spokesman said he could “confirm that insurers are being consulted on a request by Treasury for a large amount of data on property claims”.
“The Insurance Council is consulting with its members on the feasibility of this proposal,” he said. “The industry’s focus is on providing services and responding to its customers and data requests are an extra burden on insurers, but they also appreciate the need to provide data to government.”
He said about 11,500 bushfire-related insurance claims had been made since the start of September, for a total amount claimed of $995m.
Frydenberg met insurance industry chief executives on Tuesday, a meeting the ICA CEO, Rob Whelan, described at the time as “highly productive”.
Frydenberg said he and the CEOs “also discussed how insurers and government can continue to work together, including sharing detailed data about the response, to help support insurers, government and others respond to the needs of communities in a timely manner”.
The level of detail demanded in the letter has alarmed some in the insurance industry.
Some were also puzzled by Frydenberg’s statement after the meeting that insurers gave “a commitment to focus on local building and construction businesses and suppliers in fire-affected communities to carry out the necessary work” at the meeting.
Insurers already use local contractors wherever possible because it is generally cheaper than bringing in outsiders, an industry source told Guardian Australia.
Frydenberg’s office has been contacted for comment.
