The insurance industry is “working around the clock” in three states as the impact of Australia’s catastrophe-ridden summer increases.

The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has declared three catastrophes: last month’s Victoria bushfires, December’s Sydney hailstorm and the Townsville floods.

Insurance losses from the fires have reached $20 million from 365 claims, pushing the summer catastrophe bill past $2.2 billion.

Townsville losses stand at $1.04 billion from 25,770 claims, while hailstorm losses have reached $1.19 billion from 130,000 claims.

ICA spokesman Campbell Fuller says insurers are working hard to support affected customers.

“They are also standing by to help policyholders in Queensland, the NT and northwestern WA who have suffered losses caused by cyclones Trevor and Veronica,” he said.

ICA GM Risk Karl Sullivan says the insurance industry’s good work is often overlooked.

“It often seems that anyone can tell you about a disappointing experience they, or someone they know, has had,” he writes on LinkedIn.

“We rarely hear from the 99% of claimants who have had their lives rebuilt because they had the wisdom to insure themselves.

“No industry is perfect – continual improvement of insurance products, services and processes is critical – but the value being delivered to disaster victims this summer is a great reminder of the good work already being done by industry colleagues.”