Catastrophe insurance data provider PERILS has released its fourth and final industry loss estimate of AUD 688 million, for the New South Wales and Queensland floods which occurred during the period of March 18–24 2021.
Source: Jason O’Brien/EPA
In line with the PERILS event definition, the loss number covers the property and motor lines of business, with property lines contributing 88% of the total industry loss, while motor lines of business contributed 12%.
The final estimate is based on loss data collected from the majority of the Australian insurance market. In addition, the report provides a comprehensive breakdown of property and motor losses by postcode, with the data further divided by residential and commercial lines, and loss amounts split into buildings, contents and business interruption losses where available.
During the event period, a high-pressure system over the Tasma Sea blocked a low-pressure system off north west Australia, resulting in large volumes of moist tropical air over central and eastern Australia.
The East Coast of Australia consequently experienced a period of extreme rainfall which resulted in major river and surface water flooding. Flood and storm drain damage also occurred over a wide area along the Australian East Coast.
For New South Wales, it represented one of the largest flood losses on record.
Head of PERILS Asia-Pacific, Darryl Pidcock commented: “This final loss report for the March 2021 floods is being released following the record rainfall in recent weeks in the states of Queensland and New South Wales which caused major river and surface water flooding in some regions. Some of the affected communities are still recovering from the 2021 floods, an event which has already highlighted the complexities for the insurance industry in assessing major flood and storm losses.
“As more detailed loss footprints are made available following each event, it will enable insurers to improve their understanding of flood risks, including their application to recent flooding loss reserve estimates. As insurers continue to support communities dealing with recent flood losses in addition to last year’s events, our hope is that our industry loss and exposure data can positively contribute to their efforts.”
PERILS have said that they will report on the flood and storm events which occurred in Australia in February and March 2022 shortly.
