Insurers have received more than 60,000 claims from the storms and flooding that swept across the eastern states from late December to early January and numbers are continuing to climb.

The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) declared a catastrophe last month for storms impacting Queensland, NSW and Victoria from December 23, then extended the declaration on January 3 as the severe weather continued. The event has been termed Cat 233.

“It is still too early to estimate the cost of CAT 233, as claims continue to be made by affected insurance customers as they begin their recovery,” a spokesman told insuranceNEWS.com.au today.   

ICA said on X at the end of last week that insurers had received 60,518 claims from the storms. Figures are due to be updated in the next couple of days.

Separately, ICA before Christmas declared a catastrophe for ex-tropical cyclone Jasper, which brought torrential rain and flooding to Far North Queensland. Some, 6924 claims have been received from that event, ICA posted on X.

Australia had experienced a reprieve from severe weather before December, with the Jasper-related flooding the first ICA-declared catastrophe for the calendar year. A significant event was declared in May for Newcastle region hailstorms.

But the industry is still dealing with the impacts from a previous slew of events, including the record breaking $6 billion in claims from southeast Queensland and NSW flooding in 2022. Further floods hit eastern states over the remainder of that year.

ICA says the past two years have seen a relentless cycle of recovery efforts from previous disasters, coupled with fresh weather events, leaving skilled labour and materials in high demand.

“Nationwide, builders are grappling with the double whammy of soaring building material costs, up to 20% due to ongoing inflationary pressures, and an overstretched resource pool,” the ICA spokesman said.

“Despite these challenges, insurers are prioritising claims to the most severely impacted customers, partnering with suppliers and builders to streamline assistance, while acknowledging that some delays remain inevitable.”  

The recent storms and flooding have upended expectations for relatively drier conditions in the east after the switch from a La Nina climate driver to an El Nino, typically associated with elevated summer bushfire risk.

IAG says it has received 23,384 weather-related claims from December 1 to today, including 14,332 for the CAT 233 events.

“Our Major Event Response, Assessing and Claims teams and our partner repairers are on the ground in Cairns and the Gold Coast region, supporting customers with their claims and providing immediate help such as emergency financial assistance and temporary accommodation,” NRMA Insurance EGM Luke Gallagher said.
 
“Our focus at this stage is ensuring our customers are safe, have temporary accommodation if required, and progressing their claims through the assessment and repair process.”

The company said in a January 4 statement that the maximum event retention in December was $169 million and the ultimate cost of the month’s natural peril claims was being determined. Natural perils costs were tracking below the allowance, it said.

Suncorp has also said it expects to be within its natural hazard allowance of $680 million for the half year to December. The company has an allowance of $1.36 billion for the financial year.

As of January 2, the insurer had received about 19,000 claims from customers impacted by weather events in Queensland, NSW, Victoria and the ACT since the end of November.

Allianz says it has received about 9500 claims for the December 23-30 period.

The severe weather has continued in January, with regional Victoria hit by torrential rain and flooding. The town of Heathcote received 184mm in 24 hours, representing three months’ worth of rain, while 125mm fell at Rochester to 9am on January 8, a daily record, based on data extending back 120 years.

The Bureau of Meteorology today said that an active monsoon is continuing in northern Australia, with a tropical low boosting wind and rain.