Sunday’s Sydney hailstorm was a damp squib compared with the rampaging monster of 1999 which led to claims exceeding $1 billion. Sunday’s storm, despite the white covering over some suburbs, was classified as minor.

Insurance Disaster Response Organisation spokesman Chris Henri said: “It’s not a severe insurance storm. It’s not in the same category as the 1999 hailstorm.”

Mr Henri says the NSW State Emergency Service received 250 calls, mainly for minor damage, including hail-filled gutters and broken roof tiles, windows and skylights. “As far as we know there was some motor vehicle damage but nothing serious in terms of the insurance companies. The hailstones weren’t very large.”

The NSW Bureau of Meteorology said the hailstones ranged between 1cm and 4cm. The hailstones in 1999 were reported to be the size of oranges. That storm pummelled Sydney’s eastern suburbs, resulting in more than 80,000 claims for broken windows, damaged cars and smashed roof tiles at a cost of more than $1.7 billion – the largest payout for a natural disaster in Australia.