Allianz Australia MD Terry Towell has revealed how the insurer’s global reach has helped his company to respond to major hailstorms in Melbourne and Perth.

Two wild hailstorms within 16 days in March sent Australian insurers scrambling to deal with a surge in claims, with insured losses estimated at $1.85 billion.

“For Allianz Australia alone the storms generated over 20,000 claims – one tenth of our annual claims volume – in a two-week period,” Mr Towell said in a statement last week.

Allianz flew in staff from sister company UK Allianz Group to help deal with claims after its motor assessing resources experienced huge demand.

Allianz UK assessors were available for a surprise working holiday having concluded the typically busy December-February UK winter claims period. The company has also seconded staff from NZ.

“Two natural catastrophes of this magnitude occurring back to back is unprecedented in recent Australian insurance history,” Mr Towell said.

He says the insurer’s ability to call on international resources to assist in times of crisis is a competitive advantage.