IAG has cut its earnings outlook for this financial year, citing last month’s hailstorm event as a key trigger for the downgrade.

Its revised forecast calls for a reported insurance margin of 14.5-16.5%, down from the previous forecast of 16-18%.

The hailstorm severely damaged cars and homes in Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne, and will cost the business about $169 million on a pre-tax basis, the insurer says in an investor update ahead of next week’s release of its half-year results.

IAG has so far received over 28,000 hailstorm-related claims, with the majority for residential property and motor damage.

Taking into account the hailstorm, IAG has raised its full-year net natural peril claim cost by $74 million to $715 million.

Morningstar Equity Analyst Nathan Zaia, who tracks the banks and insurance sectors, says the hailstorm and bushfire catastrophes are a reminder of the “inherent risks and earnings uncertainty” facing the industry.

The revised guidance from IAG assumes natural peril claim costs for the remainder of this financial year will not exceed $208 million, he says.

For the half-year results, IAG has flagged the business will set aside $80 million in net post-tax provision for a customer remediation program. The refund is related to a specific multi-year pricing issue where eligible clients may not have received the full premium discount.

The reported insurance margin for the December half is expected to slow to 13.5% from 13.7% in the previous corresponding period.