Zurich-based catastrophe insurance data provider PERILS AG has disclosed its third industry loss estimate for the October 2022 Southeast Australia floods, noting the event cost the insurance industry a total of AUD 907 million.
PERILS explains that the updated figure is based on detailed loss data by postcode and line of business collected from the majority of the Australian insurance market.
This latest loss estimate compares to the AUD 791m issued by PERILS in its first loss report six weeks after the event, and AUD 840m issued by PERILS three months after the event.
According to the firm, the figure is primarily composed of personal lines property losses which represent 65% of the total industry loss, while commercial lines property losses represent 25% and motor losses 10%.
The event mainly affected the states of Victoria (81% of the total industry loss) and New South Wales (14%) while losses in Tasmania, Queensland and South Australia were moderate.
Darryl Pidcock, Head of PERILS Asia-Pacific, commented, “While Australia is currently neither in a La Niña nor an El Niño phase, the October 2022 floods serve as a reminder of the considerable flood damage caused by La Niña during 2022 on the back of the largest Cat loss for the insurance industry, the floods in Eastern Australia of February-March 2022.
“In contrast to the March event, the October floods primarily impacted rural regions with comparably lower value concentrations. The extent of the affected area was however very large, impacting many towns across several states and causing extensive damage over a wide geographic area.”
Pidcock continued, “With the release of this detailed industry loss footprint, we believe it provides an opportunity for the insurance industry to better understand flood risks in the impacted regional communities. We remain very grateful to our insurance partners for their continued support.”
PERILS states that an updated estimate of the property and motor hull market loss from the October floods, including an updated loss footprint, will be made available on 28 October 2023, one year after the event’s end date.
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