The insurance claims from the Victorian bushfires that hit the Great Ocean Road region on Christmas Day have soared to 1,200 with losses now amounting to about $150 million.
The
Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) recently released these new figures but it expects the total damage bill to keep growing as people continue to lodge their claims.
Other costs covering grant payments, emergency service response and accommodation for firefighters and emergency personnel will also increase the damage bill.
"We can't predict what the final bill will be, nor the final number of claims,"
The Age quoted ICA general manager for communications
Campbell Fuller as saying.
"Claims are still filtering through and in some instances assessors are still working through the area talking to policyholders. And it's not unusual for claims to continue to filter through for many months after a disaster of this magnitude.”
Fuller said the claims would include destroyed properties, damaged houses and outbuildings, motor vehicle claims and some commercial losses.
"A high proportion of those claims relate to total property losses,” he said.
One of the most expensive disasters in recent months, the Great Ocean Road destroyed 116 homes at Wye River and Separation Creek.
According to
The Age report, the insured losses incurred from the Christmas Day catastrophe is already near the $170 million losses from the recent Pinery bushfires in South Australia which had roughly 2,000 losses.
"Fortunately it's not of the magnitude of Black Saturday, but it is definitely one of the biggest fires of recent years,” Fuller said when asked how the losses compared with other Victorian bushfires.
