Based on figures from the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA), the claims count from ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred is likely about 70,000, the majority for damaged homes in Queensland. Since the cyclone made landfall on March 7, residents, government agencies, builders and insurance firms have engaged in recovery efforts.
“You could say we’re right in the thick of it!” said Mark Mellor (pictured below). “We don’t expect things to quiet down anytime soon.”
Mellor is national CAT manager for Crawford & Company Australia, the global claims management provider. He’s based in North Brisbane and was in the impact zone of ex-TC Alfred where he continues to triage incoming claims and manage a team of loss adjusters.
Insurance Business caught up with him a couple of days after the cyclone struck and again on Friday March 21.
Back in the first days of the nat cat he anticipated that the impact was likely not as severe as many had expected.
“It’s safe to say that the cyclone losing strength due to a delayed landfall has mitigated some of the damage, as well as the groundwater inundation and flooding that we had anticipated,” said Mellor.
However, he said his firm was receiving significant claims, including from properties on the Gold Coast.
“The Emerald Lake suburb in the Gold Coast was completely submerged and cut off from the rest of the town due to flooding (main picture),” said Mellor. “Large swathes of Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast were all without power.”
Those power cuts impacted about 50,000 people, including Mellor himself.
“On a personal level, I am still without power, phones and Wi-Fi at home which is fun when you have a teenage daughter,” he said.
At that time, he said the “lack of visibility and understanding” of what might be coming down the claims pipeline was the biggest obstacle for insurance firms dealing with the event.
Nearly two weeks later he described a clearer picture of the claims challenges facing insurance professionals.
“So far, most of the claims we’re seeing are related to domestic properties affected by storm damage,” said Mellor. “This includes everything from damage to the upper parts of buildings and fences, leaking roofs, to surface water runoff.”
He said most commercial damage is to small strip shops and businesses rather than larger commercial properties and shopping malls.
Most of the claims so far, he said, concern water ingress due to the heavy rainfall or strong winds, rather than properties being directly affected by floodwaters.
“We’ve also seen some beach erosion along the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast, which will affect tourism, but we expect these areas to be repaired pretty quickly,” said Mellor.
He said claims are still coming in steadily.
“We expect this trend to continue for a while, especially since the affected area stretched over 500 km along Australia’s east coast,” said Mellor.
He said losses related to power outages and supply challenges also tend to be reported a bit late.
While most Queensland and NSW residents have returned home and their power has returned, that’s not the case for everyone.
“Even this week, we’re seeing more flooding in Ingham, which has led to the Bruce Highway closing, further cutting off access to supplies and impeding movement,” said Mellor. “Although the cyclone has passed, its lingering effects are still being felt and there’s a sense of restlessness as ex-TC Alfred may have had more tricks up its sleeve than we initially thought.”
Insurance professionals on the ground, including loss adjusters and brokers, he suggested, still have lots of work to do, but not as much as they feared.
“For those businesses impacted by ex-TC Alfred, the losses appear to be less severe compared to similar past events, primarily involving water leaks and minor interruptions in trading,” said Mellor.
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