The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) says insurers have received 8,415 claims with an estimated insurance loss of $97.9 million arising from the floods that have hit New South Wales in recent days.
According to the ICA, 84% of claims are for property, with 14% for motor, and the rest commercial. This follows the body declaring earlier this week declaring the July 2022 extreme rain and flooding event that has impacted large parts of Sydney, the Hunter and mid-north coast to be a significant event.
This declaration meant that the ICA’s preliminary catastrophe processes have been activated, assisting the ICA and insurers to assess the insurance impact of the current flood event.
After a significant event declaration:
- The ICA commences its claims data collection, analysis, and reporting processes in consultation with members.
- ICA representatives will continue to work with government and agencies to understand impacts on the community and ensure affected residents receive assistance.
- The ICA’s disaster hotline is activated 1800 734 621; offering assistance to policyholders if they are uncertain of their insurance details or have general enquiries about the claims process.
This event may be escalated to an insurance catastrophe if there is a significant increase in claim numbers or complexity, if the geographical spread of this event is extended or in consultation with insurers.
As Reinsurance News reported earlier this week, Australia has been hit by more significant rainfall and strong winds as an East coast low batters the country, with parts of Sydney particularly badly hit as 350 mm of rainfall has been recorded and numerous rivers reach flood stage. Up to 50,000 people have been urged to evacuate their homes, while parts of Sydney has been inundated with eight months of rain in about four days.
Thousands of households have been told to evacuate due to flood warnings and an expectation of more rains to come.
Southwest and northwest Sydney have seen properties flooded, while the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley area is being warned that the worst flooding may still be to come.
And it has been reported that another eight local government areas in New South Wales have been declared as flood disaster areas, bringing the total to 37. This means that people can now apply for disaster recovery funding assistance, as well as the disaster recovery payment of $1,000 for adults and $400 for children.
This comes after the Australian government’s Bureau of Meteorology said on Thursday that the eastern part of the country is likely to see around 2 to 3.5 times the average rainfall for August to October.
