The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has declared an Insurance Catastrophe for parts of South Australia impacted by significant hail, rain and strong winds last week.
The catastrophe declaration was also extended to cover areas of Victoria and Tasmania affected by the same storm cell late last week.
Insurers have received almost 24,000 claims so far in South Australia and this number is expected to rise over coming days. Another 12,000 claims have been received in Victoria and around 100 in Tasmania.
So far, most claims are from policyholders from areas including the Barossa Valley, Elizabeth, the Adelaide Hills, Salisbury, Craigmore and surrounds.
Motor vehicle claims are two thirds of those currently lodged, however it is expected that crop losses from the Barossa Valley region will be high.
Insurers currently anticipate the need to deploy up to 80 specialist assessment and recovery personnel from interstate, including from Victoria and New South Wales.
Under South Australia’s current border regime these insurance disaster responders would be subject to a range of restrictions, including prohibiting entry altogether or having to quarantine for 14 days.
The council is engaging with the South Australian Government to allow these essential personnel to enter South Australia to operate and support impacted communities in their recovery.
It will continue to monitor the impact of storms and strong winds in Victoria to ascertain whether the Insurance Catastrophe declaration should be widened to include impacted areas in that State.
The Catastrophe Declaration serves to escalate and prioritise the insurance industry’s response for affected policyholders.
