NSW has been pummelled by two natural catastrophes over the past week, with bushfires devastating several regional areas and Sydney and Wollongong being battered by a hailstorm on Saturday.

The combined insured losses from the two catastrophes are now more than $70 million.

Insured losses from the bushfires have climbed to about $28.5 million from 1200 claims, according to the latest figures from the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA).

The hailstorms that pummelled parts of Sydney and Wollongong on Saturday have so far reached $42 million from about 17,500 claims lodged to date.

Most claims are from the hills district and the northern beaches, where tennis ball-sized hailstones damaged cars and house roofs.

The bushfires affected Warrumbungle Shire in the state’s central-west and communities close to Port Macquarie, Kempsey and Narrabri. More than 45 houses were destroyed.

The most recent blaze was at Carwoola, east of Queanbeyan, where 11 houses were destroyed and 12 others damaged in a grassfire late last week. 

ICA has declared the hailstorm and bushfires as catastrophes, with the insured loss total expected to rise as more claims are filed.