Insurance claims have soared as wild weather ripped through parts of south-east Queensland last week.

The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) told insuranceNEWS.com.au on Friday that insurers had received 16,000 claims at an estimated cost of $140 million. However, the number of claims is expected to rise, with just one insurer, Suncorp, revealing today that it has received 13,000 claims worth $150 million.

After storms wreaked havoc on north-west Brisbane on Sunday last week, flash floods continued on Wednesday night, toppling a bridge and tearing bitumen off roads in Ipswich.

RACQ Insurance CEO Bradley Heath says the damage bill is likely to grow into the hundreds of millions of dollars, outdoing Cyclone Larry in terms of claims.

Insurance Broking Queensland MD Shayne Smith says the amount of damage that has been inflicted on parts of Brisbane is “phenomenal” and predicts the event will seriously impact on insurers.

“It definitely is the worst storm we have seen in Brisbane in many years,” he said. “It has taken a while to sink in that it really is a horrific event.”

Suncorp's reinsurance policy caps losses from any single catastrophic event at $150 million.

A Suncorp spokesman told insuranceNEWS.com.au most of the claims are for homes, and predominantly from the original storm on Sunday.

CEO John Mulcahy says it is too early to understand the effect of these storms on the group’s insurance trading ratio.

An IAG spokesman said today the company has received 6000 claims and expects to pay between $60-70 million across its NRMA Insurance and CGU brands.  IAG remains within its budgeted storm allowance for the financial year of $314 million.

RACQ gave a preliminary figure last Tuesday of 2500 claims and a damages bill of $25 million, but said those figures were likely to rise.

Brisbane broker Richard Smith of Blue Broking told insuranceNEWS.com.au nearly all the claims received so far are from the initial storms on Sunday night, with both commercial and domestic claims but primarily domestic property damage.

He says insurers’ response to the claims has been “absolutely excellent”, with assessors out on the ground first thing on Monday.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has set up a recovery taskforce to co-ordinate the long-term rebuilding of homes damaged similar to the one headed by former Defence Force Chief Peter Cosgrove after Cyclone Larry.