Australian summer insured catastrophe losses hit $1.2bn: ICA

According to the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA), insurance market losses from severe storms and catastrophe events that affected the country over the summer have now reached $1.2 billion.

This estimate covers a number of recent catastrophe events, namely ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper which impacted regions from Cape York Peninsula to Townsville from 10 to 16 December, and the Christmas and New Year storms that impacted regions of Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria from 23 December to 3 January.

The Christmas and New Year storms alone are now estimated to have driven $968 million in insurance market losses from nearly 90,000 claims, the ICA said.

In just the last month, almost 18,000 claims have been lodged against those storms, showing how long it can take claimants to get the claims process underway.

$171 million has been paid to impacted customers, with claims closures proceeding as expected in line with similar past events, the ICA explained.

The average claim cost is currently less than $10,000, which is lower than many other similar events, the organisation also noted.

Meanwhile, ex-TC Jasper has now driven $278 million in insured losses, from nearly 10,000 claims.

The average claim cost from ex-TC Jasper is around $28,000, while twenty-one per cent of claims from this event have been closed, and $62 million already paid out to customers.

The ICA also noted that it is finalising the data from the recent Valentine’s Day severe storms that affected Victoria and expects to release that next week.

ICA CEO Andrew Hall commented, “This data highlights the impact of both ex-TC Jasper and the Christmas and New Year storms, but also demonstrates insurers’ commitment to assessing claims and facilitating repairs.”