Almost 40,000 insurance claims totalling $201 million have been lodged since the huge hailstorm that hit Brisbane and southeast Queensland last Thursday.

The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) says the figures, released today, are “still growing”.

There have been 28,814 motor vehicle claims and 10,863 home and contents claims.

State Premier Campbell Newman says the storm was the worst to hit Brisbane since 1985.

Winds of 140kmh, 6000 lightning strikes and hail the size of tennis balls left 90,000 homes and businesses in southeast Queensland without power.

Suncorp has received more than 13,000 claims for damage to homes and vehicles, including 8000 for hail-battered cars.

The insurer has set up a “mass assessment centre” in Fairfield, staffed by assessors and motor repair specialists. Suncorp expects more than 600 cars a day to pass through the centre, which has been utilised in previous storms over the past five years.

Despite its high level of preparedness, Suncorp has warned customers to expect delays.

“We have thousands of customers we are trying to assist at the moment, and we’re doing the best job we can in the quickest possible time,” spokesman Melissa Cronin said. “There will be some delays, either when trying to lodge a claim or waiting for an assessment and repair, and we ask Brisbane residents to be patient.”

The insurance industry has honed its approach to weather events in recent years, and this was evident in the rapid response to the Brisbane storm.

ICA led the way when it declared the storm a catastrophe, triggering a series of protocols and placing priority on claims from the storm. It then set up a taskforce to liaise with the Queensland Government, local governments and emergency services.

The Insurance Council also set up a disaster hotline for residents with enquiries about claims or who are uncertain which insurer they are with.

ICA spokesman Campbell Fuller, who is in Brisbane, expects storm damage will be assessed “over several days if not weeks”.