The weekend deluge in south-east Queensland, on top of last week’s flooding on the mid-north coast of NSW, will keep claims specialists busy in the week ahead. One immediate question to be settled: was it a storm event or a flood?

NRMA Insurance says it has received around 1300 claims in NSW. Operations Manager Suzanne Jolliffe says most damage is centred on Coffs Harbour, but claims have also been received from Sawtell, Urunga and Bellingen.

Oxley Insurance Brokers director Ken Phillips, who is based at Coffs Harbour, says all affected areas in the region are now accessible, and assessors who arrived from Sydney and Brisbane at the weekend are now on the scene.

“In light of how much rain fell in such a short time, we’re expecting it to be seen as a storm event rather than a flood event,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

He says Red Hill, west of Coffs Harbour, received 418mm of rain in 30 hours and water subsequently rushed into town, where it was already raining heavily.

Last Thursday’s Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) estimates of 2000 claims and insurable cost of $27 million for NSW remain in force. These claims relate to commercial properties, motor vehicles and residential home and contents policies.

It’s understood a decision is yet to be made by ICA on whether floods on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast at the same time will be considered as part of the same event.

Suncorp spokesman Jamin Smith says the group is seeing a “moderate” number of claims from NSW.

“We still don’t expect it will be a major claims event, but we are watching it closely,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au. “Aggregate reinsurance cover will limit the cost to Suncorp.”

Zurich Financial Services Australia spokesman Sylvia Roder says Zurich has exposure in NSW, mainly through its policies with local councils.

Meanwhile, Coffs Harbour State MP Andrew Fraser has called a disaster recovery meeting tomorrow for insurance representatives and the community, aimed at heading off a repeat of 1996 when delays in settlements followed water damage in the area.

The Federal Government has announced financial assistance for recovery efforts including personal hardship and distress grants to individuals, and concessional loans for small businesses and primary producers, along with road and rail freight subsidies for primary producers needing to move livestock and fodder.