More research on the combined effects of hail size, wind speed and rain could be of major benefit to property insurers in pricing and modelling, a new report on last November’s Brisbane hailstorm says.

It would also allow for better material design and economic cost-benefit modelling, according to the paper from the Cyclone Testing Station at James Cook University in Townsville.

“The amount of damage and the payout of the whole Brisbane storm was huge, of a magnitude greater than Cyclone Marcia for insurance payouts,” testing station director David Henderson told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

The Insurance Council of Australia has estimated claims from Cyclone Marcia in February at $412 million and claims from the Brisbane hailstorm at $804 million.

“You have wind, hail and rain and they are all combined in these events,” Dr Henderson said.

“The levels of damage we can expect from that combination depend on the different portions of those different elements. We need more research to look at overall risks and what we can do to mitigate those risks.”

Newer windows showed much greater resistance than older ones in the hailstorm, the report says.

This may be due to a number of factors, including the smaller size of older, stiffer panes, newer glass having more “give” and the effects of silicon seals compared with putty.

“So it’s not just old and new, there are so many other parameters in there that may be aiding the new windows compared with the old,” Dr Henderson said.

Some new or recently renovated homes showed little or no window damage in areas that were otherwise heavily hit.

“Anecdotally, installation of the new windows thereby reduced the vulnerability to damage by water ingress and structural damage due to internal pressures,” the report says.

There was widespread damage to cars and commercial and domestic air-conditioning units, and water damage also contributed to claims, especially for contents insurance.

“Common hail damage to roofs observed during this event included dented metal cladding, dented roof vents and broken skylights,” the report says.

Several roof failures were observed, mainly in older houses, units and churches constructed to previous building standards.

“A common occurrence was failure of new roof cladding on older structures due to inadequate fixings.”

More than 2800 properties were damaged, 80% of them houses. Of the affected properties, about 92% suffered minor damage, 7% moderate and 1% severe.