Ex-Cyclone Alfred claims jump to 22,000 as clean-up begins

By Ryan Hewlett

March 11 - (The Insurer) - Insurers have received more than 22,000 insurance claims from policyholders across southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales following ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred, according to the Insurance Council of Australia.

The majority of claims lodged so far are from Queensland, the ICA said on Tuesday, although claim numbers across New South Wales are expected increase in the coming days as some areas reopen.

Data from ICA members shows that 22,400 claims have been filed as of March 11, of which 20,665 have been lodged by policyholders in Queensland.

The majority of total claims across Queensland and New South Wales relate to home insurance (20,460), while motor and commercial claims total 1,182 and 758, respectively.

“While the clean-up has begun for some communities, many still remain without power and are on continuing flood alert with some rivers yet to peak,” the ICA said.

Australian carrier IAG separately said it had received more than 2,500 claims as of 7 a.m local time on March 11, with around 80% of the claims coming from NRMA Insurance customers. The majority of claims relate to damage caused by extreme wind, fallen trees and rain ingress.

Peer Suncorp said it had received around 7,800 claims across both states. Of these, around 7,200 were for home insurance, including more than 2,100 food spoilage claims, with most of these claims falling within the Cyclone Reinsurance Pool coverage period.

Suncorp noted that the federal government’s Cyclone Reinsurance Pool provides cover for damage that occurred up to 6 a.m. on March 10.

The ASX-listed carrier also disclosed that it has a comprehensive reinsurance program in place that provides protection against large weather events, with a maximum event retention of A$350 million and a main catastrophe cover which provides protection of up to A$6.75 billion with a full reinstatement in place.