The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has announced that over half of the insurance claims relating to the flooding and storm that hit the Australian city of Hobart, Tasmania over May 10-11 have now been closed as the insurance bill nears AUD $100 million (USD $73 million).
The $99.72 million figure relates to 8800 household and commercial claims and is almost double the initial estimate of economic damage provided by Aon’s Impact Forecasting later in May.
The storm’s record overnight rainfall brought flash-flooding and 70kph wind gusts to the capital of Australia’s island state, which damaged property, swept away cars, and downed trees and power lines.
Following the storm, the ICA officially declared the event a catastrophe, which ensured that affected policyholders were given priority by re/insurers, and guaranteed that urgent assistance was immediately directed to the worst-affect property owners.
Campbell Fuller, General Manager Communications at the ICA, said: “Insurers have worked diligently and efficiently to help their customers since the floods, including sending staff, specialists and equipment from the mainland to speed the recovery effort.
“As of today, almost 90 per cent of motor vehicle claims have been closed, as well as about 55 per cent of home building claims and almost 45 per cent of contents claims.”
He continued: “The insurance industry promised immediately following the floods that it would act swiftly and with compassion to help affected households and businesses. It has, and continues to, deliver to customers despite many challenges, including shortages of equipment and replacement goods in Tasmania.”
The Hobart Catastrophe is currently the largest natural disaster to have struck Australia this year, although the country has also suffered a number of other notable events, including the New South Wales and Victoria bushfires in March, which led to $82.5 million in payouts that related to 1039 claims, mostly in the Tathra area.
Meanwhile, Tropical Cyclone Marcus also struck Australia’s Northern Territory in March and resulted in 6218 claims and insured losses of almost $62 million, while flooding in North and Central Queensland in early March caused insured losses of almost $17 million from 525 claims.
The ICA added that it is continuing to closely monitor hundreds of bushfires in New South Wales and Queensland and is awaiting the cyclone season outlook from the weather bureau after the impact of Cyclone Debbie in 2017, which caused insured losses in excess of $1.7 billion.
