It was a bad year of Australia's insurance industry which had to pay out more than $4 billion in insurance claims due to the natural calamities that battered the country in 2011.

Rob Whelan, chief executive of the Insurance Council of Australia, said almost 190,000 claims with a total reserved value of $4.39 billion were filed by individuals, businesses and farm owners due to the floods, cyclones, bushfires and storms that hit Australia in 2011.

Queensland topped the bill with 58,463 claims worth $2.4 billion for the floods and another 72,203 claims worth $1.33 billion for the destruction caused by cyclone Yasi.

"Unless governments improve land use planning and building codes, remove some of the cost impediments to taking out insurance, and build the physical barriers to protect those at risk, communities will remain vulnerable," Mr Whelan said in a statement.

Other major calamities that struck Australia were floods and severe storms that drowned Victoria and fires in February in Perth which resulted in 410 claims worth $36 million.

Mr Whelan disclosed that most of the homes and enterprises in those areas have been repaired, while work goes on in some.

It was not only Australian insurers that were hit by large amounts of claims due to the natural catastrophes. Also battered were New Zealand insurers which were deluged with earthquake claims, Japanese insurance firms which had to settle billions of tremor and tsunami damaged claims and Thai insurance companies which had to pay millions of flood claims.

"It's the role of governments to put in place the measures that make our communities safer places in which to live, especially those with a known exposure to risk from events such as flooding, cyclones and bushfires," Mr Whelan added.

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