Published | 10 August 2026
A new partnership announced today will combine the deep insurance expertise of RACT and the policy levers of government to tackle insurance affordability head on.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed today between Tasmania’s largest general insurer and the Tasmanian Government will drive strategies to make insurance more affordable and accessible for Tasmanians.
RACT Group CEO, Mark Mugnaioni said the TasInsure MoU was a result of RACT’s long-running advocacy for a partnership approach across government and the community to address insurance challenges.
“I want to thank the Premier and the Tasmanian Government for their leadership on this issue and for their commitment to finding a model that will deliver real and lasting benefits to our state,” Mr Mugnaioni said.
"This is a uniquely Tasmanian approach, made possible by the fact that RACT is member-owned and focussed solely on achieving better outcomes, not only for our 230,000 members, but all Tasmanians.
“We know that insurance costs have been putting pressure on Tasmanian households and businesses and that is why we have been working so hard on this challenge.
“We have always said this is not a problem any of us can solve alone, but it is absolutely something we can overcome together.
“RACT has formed partnerships with the University of Tasmania Fire Centre and the Hobart and Kingborough councils to work on reducing Tasmanian household risks and support insurability. This partnership with government is the natural next step.”
The MoU will cover an initial three-month period, after which the Government intends to partner with RACT for five years to drive resilience and insurance affordability outcomes.
Early work will include practical risk management support for small businesses and community organisations, property-level risk reduction planning, and better coordination of mitigation investment across all levels of government.
A critical component will be consulting closely with small businesses and industry to understand their insurance challenges and tailor policy responses that can bring down costs.
Mr Mugnaioni said making households and communities more resilient to the impact of natural disasters was an ongoing focus for RACT.
“The evidence is clear that every dollar spent on resilience returns $4 in benefit and delivers direct insurance savings for households and small businesses,” Mr Mugnaioni said.
“As a prime local example, the Launceston flood levee cost $58 million to build but now saves $15 million in insurance premiums every year.
“That is just one example of how we can work together to bring down the cost of insurance sustainably and for the long term.”
Mr Mugnaioni said RACT’s membership had strongly and consistently endorsed greater investment in disaster preparedness.
A recent survey of 11,000 Tasmanians found 76 per cent of RACT members and 70 per cent of non-members believed more needed to be done to protect communities from future natural disasters.
There was also growing understanding and concern about the direct link between increasing risk and rising insurance costs for homes and businesses.
A steering committee met for the first time this morning to start immediate work on priority actions.