Brokers in WA may want to remind their clients about the importance of storm preparation after recent figures showed insurance claims for weather damage have almost doubled in the last two years.
According to the latest data from the RAC, the insurer received almost 16,000 storm-related claims over the past 12 months – up from 14,509 the year before and just 8,115 in the 12 months prior to that.
After the data was broken down, coastal city Rockingham was crowned the storm damage capital of Western Australia with more than 90 insurance claims in 2017.
Outer Perth suburb Thornlie came in a close second with 82 claims, followed by Morley (80), Dianella and Ballajura (72), and Canning Vale (67).
According to RAC home claims manager Glen Walker, it’s been five years since the insurer had to deal with such high levels of storm-related cases.
“Storms often come quickly and catch homeowners off guard,” he said. “Items that are most often damaged in a winter storm include fences and gates, ceilings, roofs and patios, but some simple precautions can help.”
Under Walker’s advice, brokers should be encouraging their clients to check the property for any potential risks in order to minimise them as much as possible.
The warning is a pertinent one as Perth was battered by storms just last week with the RAC receiving 1,100 claims in less than seven days.
