In the wake of last month’s hail storms across Sydney and Wollongong, more than 48,000 insurance claims have been lodged, bringing damages close to $186 million.
Most of the 48,000 claims lodged for the hail that battered the east coast of New South Wales a couple of weeks ago were from the Hills district in Sydney’s north-west and were primarily for damaged homes and cars that suffered from gaping holes and smashed windows due to large hail stones, ABC reported.
The Insurance Council said the amount claimed by residents had jumped six-fold from $31 million to $186 million just six days after the storms hit.
“We expect these figures will continue to rise because more policyholders are contacting their insurers and lodging claims,” Insurance Council spokesman
Campbell Fuller said.
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The State Emergency Service crews in the Hills district said the widespread damage caused by the hail storm was the worst they had seen, the report said.
“It was one of the largest since the 2007 hail storm, this one affected a greater area because of the fact that it hit the area where there is a new subdivision,” Evelyn Lester, the Hills District State Emergency Service controller, told ABC.
“The workload has been tremendous, the jobs that the teams have had to work on are very complex with the new houses that are being built now. People are going in for the multifaceted roof not just the normal box,” she said.
Sydney residents and the SES remain on high alert due to concerns that affected properties may be further damaged by the coming storms persist.
Related stories:
http://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/au/news/breaking-news/sydney-storm-declared-catastrophe-60560.aspx
http://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/au/news/breaking-news/increased-funding-for-natural-disaster-mitigation-proposed-60168.aspx
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