Suncorp has received more than 500 claims related to tropical cyclone Jasper as the Bureau of Meteorology says “unprecedented rainfall” is leading to widespread flooding across North Queensland after the category two storm made landfall last week. 

Sure Insurance tells insuranceNEWS.com.au it had received 183 cyclone and flood-related claims by 10am, with 28 related to uninhabitable homes damaged by significant water entry, flooding and landslide. 

“We expect claim numbers to increase over the coming days. We are continuing to closely monitor the developing flood situation and will be working closely with emergency services and disaster management agencies to coordinate our response,” Sure MD Bradley Heath said. 

The Daintree River peaked at 14.85 metres early Monday morning, more than 2 metres higher than the previous record set five years ago, and the Australian Defence Force has been called in to assist. Authorities are evacuating the town of Wujal Wujal amid the flooding emergency, with hundreds of people needing rescue after some areas were hit by almost a metre of rain overnight.  

Queensland Premier Steven Miles says Disaster Recovery Funding for nine councils has been enacted in partnership with the Federal Government. 

“We have pulled together every single appropriate boat we can to safely conduct almost 300 rescues overnight on the Cairns northern beaches,” he said. “The entire town of Wujal Wujal will need to be evacuated.” 

The Bureau says communities from Hope Vale to Port Douglas could see six hourly totals of up to 300mm of rain today. Senior Meteorologist Angus Hines says a “wide array” of flood watches remain in place across North Queensland. 

"We are not done with this thing yet,” he said. “There could be some flooding through any or all of these areas over the course of the next couple of days. Severe weather warnings are ongoing,” he said.  

Suncorp has activated additional dedicated teams to be on alert, and CEO Steve Johnston said while the true extent of damage won’t be known until flood waters recede, teams are already assisting those customers who were affected.  

“The torrential rain and now flooding has meant it hasn’t been safe to get our teams on the ground yet,” Mr Johnston said. “Our mobile Customer Support Teams have been making welfare calls to impacted customers ahead of being deployed into the impacted communities when it is safe to do so.  

“In the last week we have also sent more than 35,000 SMSs to customers to help them prepare, lodge claims and provide advice on what to do next.” 

Suncorp’s 500 claims are mostly for damaged homes in the Cairns region.  

“We expect this will increase with the current flooding, and we have our claims specialists, assessors and builders ready to swing into action,” Mr Johnston said, adding Suncorp Bank has activated its disaster relief package for impacted customers. 

The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) says it is closely monitoring the situation and members are ready to respond. 

“At this stage it is too early to determine the insurance impact on properties. However, the ICA will continue to work with our members as conditions improve and more people return to their properties,” an ICA spokesperson told insuranceNEWS.com.au today. 

The Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation (ARPC) had declared an event for Jasper, meaning that the Cyclone Reinsurance Pool would cover damage and related flooding for claims lodged with insurers that have joined the scheme. 

However, the ARPC declared the end of Jasper at 12am on December 14. The claims period for eligible losses under the pool cuts off 48 hours after the declared cyclone end.