Australian Reinsurance Pool

What Australian Reinsurance Pool does

The Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation (ARPC) is a Commonwealth public financial corporation within the Treasury portfolio, established under the Terrorism and Cyclone Insurance Act 2003 (TCI Act) to operate government-backed reinsurance pools in Australia. ARPC runs two statutory pools: the Terrorism Reinsurance Pool, which has provided reinsurance for commercial property and associated business interruption losses since 1 July 2003 following the withdrawal of terrorism cover after the September 11, 2001 attacks, and the Cyclone Reinsurance Pool, which commenced on 1 July 2022 to provide reinsurance for cyclone and cyclone-related flood damage to houses, small businesses, and strata properties. Claims capacity is ultimately backed by an explicit Commonwealth government guarantee, and the Insurance Act 1973 was amended in 2022 to create civil penalties for insurers that fail to reinsure eligible cyclone risks with ARPC, making participation mandatory for large insurers.

ARPC's customer base comprises 233 Australian and international insurers, including major domestic carriers (Suncorp, IAG, Allianz Australia, QBE, Zurich, Chubb, AIG) and global reinsurers (Swiss Re, Munich Re, HDI Global, Lloyd's syndicates), with the terrorism pool covering more than 760,000 insured property assets valued at more than AUD 3.9 trillion. The Cyclone Pool targets high and medium risk cyclone-prone areas with postcode-level risk-based pricing designed to make property insurance more affordable for households and small businesses. ARPC's technology backbone is the PACE (Portal for ARPC Customer Engagement) system, delivered as separate PACE Terrorism and PACE Cyclone web-based portals that handle insurer company information, quarterly premium returns, and claims lodgement, with Multi-Factor Authentication added for secure access.

Revenue is generated through tiered reinsurance premiums: for the terrorism pool, rates of 16% (Tier A), 5.3% (Tier B), and 2.6% (Tier C) are applied to eligible commercial property and business interruption premium income, with rates set by the Minister; for the cyclone pool, rates are set by ARPC at the postcode level. Premiums, retained earnings, the global retrocession program, and the Commonwealth guarantee together back the AUD 13.5 billion in terrorism pool funding capacity. ARPC is governed by a Board chaired by Julie-Anne Schafer (term to 2030) and led by Chief Executive Dr Christopher Wallace, who also serves as President of the International Forum for Terrorism Risk (Re)Insurance Pools and on the OECD High Level Advisory Board for the Financial Management of Large-Scale Catastrophe Risks.

Name

Australian Reinsurance Pool

Legal name

Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation

Website

https://arpc.gov.au

Company type

Public

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation (ARPC) is a Commonwealth government statutory body that operates the Terrorism Reinsurance Pool (since 2003) and the Cyclone Reinsurance Pool (since 1 July 2022), providing government-backed reinsurance to 233 Australian and international insurers covering more than 760,000 properties valued at over AUD 3.9 trillion.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Reinsurance Services

NAICS

Reinsurance Carriers (524130), Reinsurance Carriers (52413)

SIC

Fire, Marine & Casualty Insurance (6331)

akta.pro primary industry

Reinsurance Pool / Facility Treaty Participation (FSAOAEAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Man-Made / Terrorism Catastrophe Reinsurance (FSAOACAE), Property Catastrophe Reinsurance (FSAOACAA)

Keywords

• Terrorism reinsurance pool
• Cyclone reinsurance pool
• Government reinsurance services
• Property catastrophe reinsurance
• Insurance retrocession programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Sydney

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Terrorism Reinsurance Premiums: Insurers pay reinsurance premiums to ARPC based on tier rates applied to their eligible premium income. Premium rates vary by tier: Tier A (16%), Tier B (5.3%), Tier C (2.6%). Insurers may gross up premiums to cover the reinsurance cost.
2. Cyclone Reinsurance Premiums: Insurers transfer cyclone risk to ARPC through mandatory participation (for large insurers) or voluntary participation. Premium rates are set by postcode and risk characteristics for cyclone and related flood damage coverage.
3. Commonwealth Guarantee: ARPC's claims capacity is backed by a Commonwealth government guarantee, which provides the ultimate reinsurance backstop. This allows ARPC to maintain adequate funding for large-scale terrorism or cyclone events.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ARPC operates two government-backed reinsurance pools for general insurance companies in Australia: the Terrorism Reinsurance Pool (since 1 July 2003) covering commercial property, business interruption, and public liability losses from declared terrorism incidents, and the Cyclone Reinsurance Pool (since 1 July 2022) covering cyclone and cyclone-related flood damage to houses, small businesses, and strata. Insurers enter into formal Reinsurance Agreements with ARPC, submit quarterly premium returns, and lodge claims via the PACE portal, with claims capacity ultimately backed by a Commonwealth guarantee.

Product overview

Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation (ARPC) operates two core reinsurance pools under the Terrorism and Cyclone Insurance Act 2003 (TCI Act): the Terrorism Reinsurance Pool (established 2003) providing reinsurance for terrorism-related commercial property losses, and the Cyclone Reinsurance Pool (operational since July 2022) providing reinsurance for cyclones and related flood damage. Both pools are supported by the PACE (Portal for ARPC Customer Engagement) portal system, which provides separate secure web-based portals for terrorism pool and cyclone pool insurers to submit premium information, claims, and company details.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Terrorism Reinsurance Pool Government-backed reinsurance pool providing cover for commercial property, business interruption, and public liability losses arising from declared terrorism incidents. Insurers enter into a Terrorism Reinsurance Agreement with ARPC, pay tiered reinsurance premiums (Tier A 16%, Tier B 5.3%, Tier C 2.6%) on eligible premium income, and benefit from approximately $13.5 billion in claims funding backed by a Commonwealth guarantee, protecting more than 760,000 insured property assets valued at over $3.9 trillion.
• Cyclone Reinsurance Pool Reinsurance pool covering cyclone and cyclone-related flood damage to houses, small businesses, and strata title properties in cyclone-prone areas of Australia. Participation is mandatory for general insurers with eligible policies (with civil penalties under the amended Insurance Act 1973 for non-compliance) and voluntary for smaller insurers. Premium rates are set by ARPC based on postcode and risk characteristics to lower reinsurance costs and improve the affordability of property insurance for households and small businesses.
• PACE Terrorism Portal Web-based insurer portal allowing terrorism pool insurers to lodge company information, submit premium returns, and process claims in a secure environment with Multi-Factor Authentication access control.
• PACE Cyclone Portal

Quantifiable outcome

• Protects more than 760,000 eligible insured property assets valued at more than $3.9 trillion
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• International Forum for Terrorism Risk (Re)Insurance PoolscoreOthersARPC is a member of the International Forum for Terrorism Risk (Re)Insurance Pools, an international body of countries operating terrorism insurance pools. ARPC's CEO Dr Christopher Wallace serves as President of this forum, facilitating knowledge sharing and collaboration on terrorism risk management across nations.
• OECD High Level Advisory Board for Financial Management of Large-Scale Catastrophe RiskscoreOthersARPC's Chief Executive Dr Christopher Wallace serves as a member of the OECD High Level Advisory Board for the Financial Management of Large-Scale Catastrophe Risks, providing expertise on catastrophe risk financing at an international level.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• GAREAT: France's gestion de l'assurance et de la réassurance des risques attentats et actes de terrorisme — the French terrorism reinsurance pool established in 2002. Like ARPC, GAREAT is a compulsory reinsurance mechanism for terrorism risk, with primary insurers required to cede exposure to the pool.
• Earthquake Commission (EQC) – New Zealand: New Zealand's statutory entity providing natural disaster insurance for residential property from earthquakes, landslips, storms, and floods. Like ARPC, EQC is a government-backed natural catastrophe scheme addressing affordability gaps in private insurance markets.
• California Earthquake Authority (CEA): A publicly managed, state-backed California earthquake insurance provider. Like ARPC's Cyclone Pool, CEA addresses a specific natural catastrophe risk that private insurers would otherwise underprovide, backed by state-level capacity and statutory structure.
• Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (Florida): Florida's state-backed insurer of last resort for property insurance, particularly in hurricane-exposed areas. Like ARPC's Cyclone Pool, Citizens addresses catastrophe-driven affordability gaps in private insurance markets for households and small businesses in high-risk regions.
• Pool Re: The UK government-backed terrorism reinsurance pool, established in 1993. Pool Re and ARPC share the same core model: a statutory reinsurance pool providing commercial property and business interruption terrorism cover, with government-backed capacity. Both serve as the country's primary systemic backstop for terrorism risk.
• Turkish Natural Catastrophe Insurance Pool (DASK): Turkey's compulsory earthquake insurance pool established in 2000. DASK and ARPC share the model of a government-mandated catastrophe insurance pool addressing a specific high-impact natural peril (earthquake vs. cyclone) with reinsurance-style risk pooling.
• TRIA / Terrorism Risk Insurance Program (U.S.): The U.S. federal terrorism reinsurance backstop, established under the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act 2002. While structured as a federal insurance program rather than a pool, TRIA shares ARPC's core model of a government-backed mechanism ensuring commercial property terrorism coverage after 9/11 withdrawal.
• Extremus: Germany's specialist terrorism insurance company established in 2002. Like ARPC's Terrorism Pool, Extremus addresses the commercial property terrorism risk gap left after 9/11, providing capacity for large-scale terrorism losses through a specialist (non-mandatory) structure.
• Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros (CCS): Spain's state-backed insurance and reinsurance entity that provides compulsory catastrophe coverage for extraordinary risks. Like ARPC, CCS operates as a public consortium pooling catastrophe risk with government backing, offering a directly comparable model of state-led extreme-event reinsurance.

Broad incumbents

• National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) – U.S. The U.S. federal flood insurance program providing catastrophe cover for property owners. While structured as a direct insurance program, NFIP shares ARPC's model of government-backed catastrophe coverage in markets where private insurers withdraw or underprovide — particularly relevant to ARPC's cyclone-related flood coverage.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/australianreinsurancepoolcorp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Australian Reinsurance Pool