According to new data released by the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA), the February North Queensland floods and ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred in March have so far caused insured losses of almost AUD 1.5 billion.
The ICA has clarified that these two events are being prioritised by insurers as they have resulted in a significant 26,000 claims.
Last month, Cyclone Alfred added another 20,000 claims, increasing claims costs by AUD 267 million.
Combined, insurers have now received over 116,000 claims from damage caused by Alfred, totalling more than AUD 1.2 billion. So far, 37% of these claims have been settled, totalling AUD 146 million.
In terms of the North Queensland floods, the ICA reports that insurers have received almost 11,000 claims totalling more than AUD 250 million.
A segment split shows that the North Queensland Floods caused 8,725 claims in home, 1,192 in motor, and 960 in commercial, bringing the total to AUD 251 million.
Meanwhile, Cyclone Alfred caused 104,389 claims in home, 3,725 in motor, and 8,118 in commercial. A total of 116,232 claims amounting to AUD 1.236 billion.
According to the data, claims from these events vary in severity, however, the average claim from the North Queensland floods is AUD 23,000 compared to the average for Alfred at a lower AUD 10,000.
Andrew Hall, Chief Executive Officer, ICA, commented, “Rising claims numbers and closure rates are a sure sign that recovery in extreme weather-impacted communities is progressing well. To help impacted customers, insurers are heading to Hervey Bay next week to meet with customers impacted by ex-TC Alfred, giving them opportunity to discuss their claim one-on-one. We encourage anyone yet to make a claim relating to extreme weather damage to get in touch with their insurer.”
In related news, Zurich-domiciled catastrophe insurance data provider PERILS AG has placed the initial total insurance market loss estimate from Cyclone Alfred at AUD 2.568 billion.
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