TasInsure shifts course: Tasmania abandons plan for a state-owned insurer in favour of a statutory authority
A flagship promise redefined
The Tasmanian government has confirmed it will not proceed with its election commitment to establish a state-owned insurance company offering home, contents and small business cover. Instead, TasInsure will be set up as a not-for-profit statutory authority intended to “oversee and support the insurance ecosystem”, with its “primary focus” described as lowering the cost of insurance.
The change marks a significant shift from the policy presented during the 2025 state election campaign, when TasInsure was promoted as the Liberals’ key pledge. At the time, Premier Jeremy Rockliff argued the insurance market had “failed Tasmanians” and said a government-owned insurer would offer affordable insurance for households, small businesses, community groups and events, and regional insurance.
During the campaign, the government also repeatedly promised the initiative would save families $250 a year and reduce small business insurance costs by 20 per cent. The TasInsure website previously described the proposal as a new company that “will offer affordable, reliable insurance products for families, small businesses, and Tasmanian communities”. Draft legislation for the state-owned company also referenced providing “general insurance”.
Now, the government’s plan is different: TasInsure will not be a direct insurer competing for customers. It will instead work with existing parts of the market and introduce targeted interventions, advisory services and comparison functions, according to an implementation plan released by the government.
What the government says TasInsure will do now
Under the revised approach, the government says TasInsure will “partner with insurers, brokers, reinsurers and other parts of the insurance system to address gaps in availability and affordability”. The body will be established through legislation and rolled out in phases, with early initiatives intended to deliver “practical benefits” before more complex measures are introduced later.
At a press conference, Mr Rockliff said he did not view the decision as a broken promise, arguing the government could “better our commitments” through this pathway. The government has also said it is finalising TasInsure’s initial interventions to support hard-to-insure activities and risks, and that it will develop “advisory, transparency and comparison functions to promote competition”.
The implementation plan indicates TasInsure will be stood up in three phases. The first phase is expected to begin in the coming year and will include advisory services for community groups. It will also involve helping hard-to-insure activities gain access to insurance through a structure that is yet to be determined. The plan indicates the third phase will be complete in 2028.
From insurer to system steward: why the model changed
The government’s implementation plan outlines concerns raised about the original state-owned company model. These concerns included potential risks to the budget, the state’s ability to respond to a disaster, and the impact a government insurer could have on the private market.
Those issues became central to the new direction after the government engaged industry expert John Trowbridge to develop a framework for TasInsure. In a report to government dated February and released alongside the new plan, Mr Trowbridge was dismissive of Tasmania starting a state-owned insurance company and instead recommended measures designed to “upgrade the competitiveness, affordability and availability of insurance”.
In practical terms, the new TasInsure concept is positioned less as a provider of policies and more as a coordinator, adviser and market mechanism designer—an entity intended to influence affordability and availability without becoming a conventional insurer itself.
Key recommendations shaping the new TasInsure
Mr Trowbridge’s report includes several recommendations that now inform the government’s revised proposal. The recommendations focus on structural interventions and support services rather than the creation of a state-owned insurer selling standard products.
A TasInsure-operated reinsurance pool for Tasmanian weather events: Mr Trowbridge recommended establishing a reinsurance pool that all insurers would use to reinsure Tasmanian weather events. He wrote that the purpose would be to protect Tasmanian property owners from losses arising from major weather events—principally bushfires and floods—while also insulating them from contributing to the funding of weather events in other parts of Australia. He cautioned that such a pool would need to be “designed with great care”.
A designated risk pool for certain sectors and associations: The report recommended a designated risk pool for operators in tourism, outdoor recreation, live entertainment and hospitality sectors, as well as community associations. This aligns with the government’s stated intention to support hard-to-insure activities and risks.
Insurance advisory and comparison services: Mr Trowbridge also recommended advisory services and comparison services, echoing the government’s plan to develop transparency and comparison functions to promote competition.
Together, these ideas suggest TasInsure will aim to influence the market through shared risk mechanisms and information tools, rather than by writing policies itself.
Industry reaction: support for the new direction
The government’s shift has been welcomed by parts of the insurance industry. The premier has said the move was welcomed by insurance companies, and RACT chief executive Mark Mugnaioni described the implementation plan as “a positive step towards improving insurance affordability”.
The response is notable because TasInsure, as originally proposed, would have entered the market as a major competitor to RACT, Tasmania’s major state-based insurance agency. Both RACT and the national body representing insurers had criticised the original TasInsure policy, calling it the wrong solution to rising insurance costs.
In addition, analysis by LateralEconomics—ordered by the industry—concluded the state-owned insurer model would be “costly and risky for the state government” and would lose up to $13 million annually. While the government’s new plan does not replicate the original insurer model, it remains focused on affordability and availability, using different levers to try to achieve those outcomes.
Political backlash: claims of a broken promise
Opposition parties have framed the change as a clear retreat from what was promised during the election. Labor’s shadow treasurer, Dean Winter, said Mr Rockliff knew “the day he announced TasInsure that he could never deliver it”. He argued the premier claimed he had modelling but “all he had was a branded jacket”.
Mr Winter also attacked the government’s earlier savings claims, saying: “He claimed Tasmanians would save $250 off their insurance, but instead their cost of insurance will just keep on going up.” He said TasInsure had been sold as cost-of-living relief but had “now been watered down into another bureaucracy, with no savings, no cheaper policy, and no explanation of how Tasmanians will be better off”.
The Greens were also critical, describing the change as evidence the original plan could not stand up to scrutiny. In a statement, the party said “the Liberals’ flagship election policy has been exposed as a cruel hoax”, arguing that with the original plan “debunked and dismissed by their own review”, the government had been forced to change its approach completely. The Greens said they would “take our time” to go through the new TasInsure policy.
What the implementation plan says about timing and phases
The government’s implementation plan sets out a staged approach, with TasInsure to be established through legislation and then built up over time. The plan describes a three-phase rollout, with early action focused on measures that can be implemented sooner and later phases bringing in more complex initiatives.
In the coming year, TasInsure is expected to begin with advisory services for community groups and work to assist hard-to-insure activities to gain insurance, though the plan notes the structure for this assistance is yet to be determined.
The plan also indicates that the third phase will be complete in 2028. While the government has emphasised early benefits, the phased timeline suggests the full suite of market-facing initiatives will take several years to develop and implement.
From campaign branding to a new mandate
The TasInsure shift also follows a visible change in how the policy has been presented publicly. During the election campaign, TasInsure branding was displayed on an office after Mr Rockliff announced the company. That branding was later taken down several months after the election.
Symbolically, the removal of campaign-era branding aligns with the policy’s transition away from a consumer-facing insurer model. Under the new plan, TasInsure’s public identity is likely to be defined less by selling policies and more by providing advice, building market tools and coordinating mechanisms such as risk pools.
How the new TasInsure model is meant to influence insurance costs
While the government’s revised plan does not include a state-owned insurer selling home, contents and small business policies, it still positions TasInsure as a vehicle to reduce costs. The government says the statutory authority’s primary focus will be lowering the cost of insurance, and it has flagged interventions aimed at hard-to-insure risks alongside transparency and comparison functions intended to promote competition.
Mr Trowbridge’s recommendations provide a clearer sense of the types of tools being considered. A reinsurance pool for Tasmanian weather events, for example, is presented as a way to manage exposure to major events such as bushfires and floods. A designated risk pool for certain industries and community associations is framed as a response to sectors that may struggle to obtain cover on standard terms.
Advisory and comparison services, also recommended, suggest TasInsure may play a role in helping organisations and consumers better understand their options, while also improving transparency in a way that could support competition.
What remains unresolved
Despite the release of an implementation plan, several aspects of the new TasInsure approach are still being developed. The government says it is “finalising TasInsure’s initial market interventions” and the plan notes that assistance for hard-to-insure activities will occur under a structure that is yet to be determined.
The scope and design of any reinsurance pool or designated risk pool will also be critical, particularly given Mr Trowbridge’s warning that a weather-event reinsurance pool would need to be designed with great care.
Finally, the government’s earlier election messaging centred on a state-owned insurer offering policies and delivering specific savings figures. Under the new model, TasInsure’s success is likely to be judged differently—by whether its interventions, partnerships and transparency tools can improve affordability and availability without becoming a direct competitor in the retail insurance market.
A policy pivot with long-term implications
The Tasmanian government’s decision to abandon the creation of a state-owned insurance company and instead establish TasInsure as a statutory authority represents a major policy pivot. Support from industry figures indicates the new approach is more acceptable to existing market participants than the original plan, which faced criticism and warnings about fiscal and market risks.
At the same time, political opponents argue the change amounts to a broken promise and a retreat from cost-of-living commitments made during the election campaign. With TasInsure set to be built in phases through to 2028, the debate is likely to continue as legislation is introduced and the first interventions are rolled out.
For Tasmanians watching insurance premiums and availability, the key question now is not whether a government insurer will offer policies, but whether a new statutory authority—working with insurers, brokers and reinsurers—can deliver measurable improvements in affordability and access, particularly for hard-to-insure risks and sectors.