The Queen’s Birthday weekend floods in NSW are now Australia’s third most expensive natural disaster on record, after the 1999 Sydney hailstorms and the 1989 Newcastle earthquake.

Insurance claims from the flood-stricken NSW Central Coast and Hunter Valley have now surpassed those from Cyclone Larry. The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) says claims have reached $540 million, but the final bill is expected to rise as belated property damage claims are made and businesses calculate the cost of lost business.

Local brokers say it could be months before all claims are submitted to insurers. And a perceived reluctance by the insurance industry to reject claims is boosting the final claims total as underwriters take a liberal view on paying up.

Brokers had feared insurers would classify property damage as flood and not as storm-related damage, which most homes and businesses aren’t covered for.

Newcastle-based brokers told Sunrise Exchange News loss adjusters classifying damage as flood-related have had their findings changed or ignored by insurance companies.

“It’s quite interesting to watch, but I don’t think anyone has got a written decline yet,” Markey Insurance Brokers MD Steve Markey said. “There have been plenty of acceptances.”

The Bulletin magazine also reported this week that ICA has put pressure on its members to approve claims. A council spokesman says the insurance industry is committed to consumers, and that the code of practice represents the industry’s commitment to going beyond legislation to ensure a high level of service.