The Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation (ARPC) has released its quarterly cyclone pool statistics for the March 2025 quarter.
As of March 31, the cyclone pool has received 78,372 claims with a total net incurred value of AU$657 million. According to ARPC, 88% of these claims are tied to ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred, which has driven the majority of pool activity to date.
The cyclone pool currently covers over 3.2 million buildings against financial loss related to cyclones. It was launched in July 2022 to support affordability and availability of insurance in regions with medium to high cyclone risk.
Annual premiums collected through the pool amount to approximately AU$557 million for Home insurance policies, AU$55 million for Strata, and AU$27 million for small to medium enterprise (SME) properties.
The program also offers incentives for mitigation, with AU$7.3 million in annual discounts applied to Home properties that have undertaken approved mitigation activities.
The ARPC has reported that total building exposure covered under the cyclone pool approached AU$2.23 trillion by the end of December 2024. This figure reflects the aggregate sum insured across all eligible properties under the program, emphasizing the scale of risk managed through the national pool. The total number of buildings covered exceeds 3.1 million.
Since its launch, the cyclone pool has contributed to premium reductions for insureds in cyclone-prone regions. ARPC's 2025 Premium Assessment found that home insurance customers in high-risk areas experienced an average premium reduction of 39% compared to pre-pool levels.
Small and medium-sized enterprises have also seen similar downward adjustments. Premiums for building and contents coverage among SMEs in eligible zones have decreased by an average of 31%, according to ARPC data.
In addition to price relief, the cyclone pool has improved accessibility to insurance. Quote success rates for home insurance in high-risk areas rose from 66% before the pool was implemented to 84% as of January 2025.
ARPC cited the improvement as a signal that more homeowners in these regions are now able to obtain coverage, which had previously been restricted or unaffordable due to the frequency of severe weather events.
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