ICA declares “significant event” for north Queensland flooding

By Michael Jones

Feb 3 - (The Insurer) - The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has declared a “significant event” for parts of north Queensland affected by significant storms and flooding since 29 January.

The impact has been felt most significantly in and around Townsville, Innisfail, Ingham, Gordonvale and Cardwell. However, the ICA said all impacted regions in north and far north Queensland fall under the significant event declaration.

Flooding was triggered by heavy rain from a low-pressure system rich in tropical moisture, Australia's weather bureau said on its website.

ICA CEO Andrew Hall said: “The volume and intensity of this weather has already caused damage across parts of northern Queensland with the risk of flash flooding expected to continue in the coming days.”

The ICA said the 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.

In August 2024, the ICA said that Australian insurers had incurred A$2.19bn ($1.34bn) of claims from declared extreme weather events over the previous 12 months.

The event with the greatest impact on individual customers was ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper, which hit far north Queensland in mid-December 2023 causing total insured losses of A$357mn.