The real work for the insurance industry is only just beginning.

With claims mounting by the hour, insurers are trying to assess the situation as quickly as possible, but say it’s going to be some time before the true cost of this event will be known.

The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) says more than 12,000 claims have already been submitted to member companies, amounting to more than $410 million.

It’s impossible to give any kind of realistic estimate of the cost of insured claims at this point.

Apart from the devastation in the population centres, commercial claims are expected to be massive. At present only 15% of Queensland’s 57 coalmines are operating normally, with 25% completely shut down. Equipment and infrastructure will have to be rebuilt or replaced before the mines can return to operation.

UK-based Barclay’s Capital says the insured losses from the flooding could top $6 billion, and has warned Bermudian reinsurers’ bottom lines are at risk as a result.

Media reports from London quote Barclays analyst Jay Gelb citing “early estimates” of $4 billion of losses from this month’s floods and $2 billion from the December floods.

It’s expected that three of the five largest reinsurance claims in the past year will have come from this region – the March Melbourne and Perth storms, the Christchurch earthquake and the Queensland floods.

ICA CEO Rob Whelan says the industry has the capacity and resources to handle the expected volume of claims.

Suncorp Group says its reinsurance program will limit the costs of claims for flooding in Brisbane and southeast Queensland to between $70 million and $90 million.

It also expects to take on additional reinsurance costs of about $120 million to reinstate multiple covers for the rest of the financial year.

The insurer received more than 2500 claims for the first weather system that battered the region in December, and initial estimates show the event costing between $130 million and $150 million.

Suncorp is the largest insurer in Queensland, and its Suncorp, GIO and APIA personal lines brands offer automatic flood cover. The group has so far received more than 10,000 claims from across Queensland since December 24.

To combat these growing increases, the group has increased its number of general claims staff and assessors working on the ground and a number of customer response teams have been deployed to Brisbane, Toowoomba and other badly affected regions.

The commercial claims team is also working extended hours, including weekends.

Commercial Insurance CEO Anthony Day says teams deployed to Emerald, Bundaberg, Chinchilla, Dalby, Theodore and Biloela are fully equipped to provide both commercial and personal insurance advice and information to brokers and customers to lodge claims and process emergency payments.

Mr Day is urging businesses with Vero’s optional flood cover and home and contents policies to lodge their claims as soon as they’re able to.

Zurich Insurance, which also provides flood cover to its commercial customers, declined to comment on the current status of flood claims, saying it has a global policy not to release interim numbers or claims costs.

IAG CEO Mike Wilkins says claims are being prioritised according to the severity of damage and customers are encouraged to lodge their claims as quickly as possible.

The group has currently received 1200 claims from heavy rain associated with Tropical Cyclone Tasha in late December, costing between $10 million and $30 million, bringing the total natural peril claim loss for the six months to December 31 to between $120 million and $140 million.

A further 2400 claims from the floods in southeast Queensland have been added to the tally, but IAG says it’s still too early to count the total cost.

Mr Wilkins says IAG’s reinsurance program allows for maximum event retention for a first event in the 2010 calendar year of $150 million.

CGU’s GM Claims Ben Bessell – whose company doesn’t offer flood cover – says the insurer is assessing each claim on a case-by-case basis.

“If any of our policyholders have been impacted by the recent severe weather we encourage them to contact us to get the process under way,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

Mr Bessell says CGU is confident its assessors and loss adjusters will be able to work through the claims at a “steady pace”.

However, he has urged claimants to be patient, as the “sheer size and geographic nature” of the event will cause expected delays in reaching everyone concerned.