NSW flooding insured losses reach $98 million, ICA estimates

8 July 2022

Insurers have so far received 8415 claims with an estimated insurance loss of $97.9 million related to extreme rain and flooding in NSW this week.

The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) issued the update today, saying property made up 84% of the claims, which date from July 1, while 14% were for motor and the balance commercial.

The ICA has declared it a significant event – stopping short of categorising it as an insurance catastrophe, which it will only do if there is a large increase in the number or complexity of claims or the geographical spread.

The event struck large parts of Sydney, the Hunter Valley and mid-north coast. Insurers say they are mostly seeing claims for property damage from leaking roofs, wind damage and fallen trees.

An Allianz spokesman told insuranceNEWS.com.au the limited geographic scale of the latest flooding would likely reduce the fallout.

“It will move up to be a small-to-medium sized event,” he said. “It will be a gradual event from a claims perspective … as areas open back up.

“I don’t think it’s going to be a very large event all things considered – nothing like February/March.”

That was Australia’s costliest natural catastrophe in two decades, with insured losses estimated at $4.8 billion. Allianz received 34,000 claims from those record floods in Queensland and NSW.

ICA CEO Andrew Hall says it is “just untenable” to keep homes that are “flooding four times in 18 months” adequately covered in an insurance pool.

“You have got to stand back and ask the question, ‘Have we built homes in the wrong spot?’,” Mr Hall said. “The frequency and severity of these recurring events demands meaningful action, and this means resilient homes, better mitigation and a thorough review of land-use planning.”