Zurich-based catastrophe data company Perils estimates insured losses from recent flooding in Queensland and NSW at $3.99 billion, taking over Brisbane’s 2011 event to be the largest flood loss on record for the Australian insurance industry.

Perils warns no common reinsurance market standard will apply to the losses and event definition clauses will vary across reinsurers, with some clauses including meteorological conditions and loss aggregation periods such as a 168-hour clause.

IAG, Suncorp and QBE have said the claims impact will be limited because of reinsurance programs.

“It was a very complex weather event from a meteorological perspective with changing weather systems during the loss period,” Perils Asia-Pacific Head Darryl Pidcock said

“The resulting damage from pluvial and river flooding was considerable.”

The February 23 to March 8 weather event saw Brisbane receive 80% of its annual rainfall in just a few days, rivers burst their banks and hundreds evacuated in Lismore in northern NSW. The floods caused chaos in Sydney, and 22 died as a result of the event.

Perils will update its estimate in June.