Insurers are ready to process claims without delay as Cyclone Alfred threatens to barrel through densely-populated urban centres, residents have been assured.
"I'm confident that the insurance companies know what they need to do, I'm confident that they're putting in place the arrangements to process lots of claims," Treasurer Jim Chalmers told ABC radio on Thursday.
"I'll obviously stay in pretty frequent contact with the CEOs to make sure that's the case," he added.
Billions of dollars in damage can be expected when the category two tropical cyclone makes landfall on the southeast Queensland coast, bringing with it extreme winds, heavy rain, flash flooding and storm surges.
Insurance companies went under the microscope following the 2022 floods, with a federal parliamentary inquiry concluding the industry "failed too many people" with delays in communication, poor claim management and other issues uncovered.
Insurers have asserted they are ready to support customers as Cyclone Alfred draws nearer, now expected to cross the Australian coast from Friday afternoon.
Suncorp chief executive officer Steve Johnston said some delays could be expected given the high volume of calls.
"Once a claim has been lodged, our team can coordinate emergency repairs as soon as it's safe," he said in a statement.
Insurance companies have been urging residents to tie down loose furniture, clear gutters and remove overhanging tree branches to minimise damage.
Climate Risk Group chief executive officer Karl Mallon said Cyclone Alfred should serve as a wake-up call for governments.
Modelling by the group had already identified southeast Queensland and northern NSW as areas at growing risk from cyclones migrating south due to warming sea temperatures.
"It is only to be expected that insurance premiums will rise in areas where the risk of damage from cyclones increases."
Dr Mallon said homes in Alfred's path were not built to withstand such high-intensity storms and building code upgrades and adaptation investment were key to minimising damage and keeping insurance costs down.
University of Melbourne architecture and construction expert Chris Jensen said building regulations were failing to keep up as the weather became more extreme.
Flood and cyclone zones are already captured by building codes but reliant on historical data rather than projections accounting for climate change.
Building code tweaks would ensure homes built back after a flood, fire or cyclone would be constructed to a higher standard, he explained, and less likely to suffer the same fate.
Dr Chalmers said the federal budget had been reoriented towards disaster preparation and mitigation, with "something like a billion dollars over five years" committed.
"These disasters unfortunately are becoming more frequent and they're becoming more severe," he said.
"We've embraced that responsibility to try and do more where we can to make our communities a bit more resilient."
Rising insurance costs are already pricing families out with potentially devastating consequences.
The average middle-income family would be at risk of losing three-quarters of their wealth if their home was destroyed without coverage, according to the The Australia Institute.
One in five Australians polled by think tank are uninsured or underinsured.
