Travel insurance customers have lodged almost 15,000 claims related to the COVID-19 outbreak, but the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) warns many will not be paid due to pandemic and “known event” exclusions.

ICA Head of Risk and Operations Karl Sullivan says customers should still lodge claims if they have suffered a loss, as insurers will be as accommodating as they can be and “many claims will be paid, depending on when the policy was purchased”.

Mr Sullivan says there is little data at this stage on SME claims. ICA declared the outbreak an insurance catastrophe on March 11.

As part of the declaration, an insurance industry taskforce was formed “to ensure that accurate claims data is captured by industry, and that industry positions on the virus can be understood by stakeholders”.