The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) and insurers are ramping up support efforts for residents of south-east Queensland who were affected by severe storms last December and January.
In an ongoing initiative, the ICA and insurers have announced a fourth round of community consultations in Upper Coomera, Jimboomba, and Tamborine. This follows face-to-face meetings held in June.
These sessions are intended to assist those still recovering from the storms, which resulted in more than 100,000 insurance claims, amounting to $1.3 billion in total damages.
These community consultations will be held in mid-September and will allow affected customers to engage directly with insurer representatives.
Attendees will have the opportunity to discuss their claim status and address any unresolved issues in person.
The scheduled consultations are as follows:
The ICA recommends that policyholders book their consultations in advance via the ICA’s website.
ICA CEO Andrew Hall highlighted the importance of sustained support for communities impacted by the storms.
“The communities who were impacted by the severe weather event in south-east Queensland have shown their resilience in the face of the challenges thrown at them at the end of last year,” he said.
He stressed that the consultations provide a crucial platform for customers to engage face-to-face with insurers, helping them move forward with their claims.
In a related development, the ICA released its Insurance Catastrophe Resilience Report 2023-24, which sheds light on the growing economic impact of extreme weather in Australia.
The report revealed that insured losses from declared catastrophes have seen a substantial increase, growing from 0.2% of gross domestic product (GDP) between 1995 and 2000 to 0.7% of GDP over the past five years.
Over the last three decades, insurers in Australia have paid out an average of $2.1 billion per year to policyholders affected by extreme weather. This figure has more than doubled in recent years, with an average annual payout of $4.5 billion, largely due to rising flood-related costs.
The report also noted that while total premiums collected by insurers increased from $50 billion in 2012 to $86 billion in 2023, the overall profitability of the insurance industry has remained relatively stable.
During the 2023-24 period, insurers handled $2.19 billion in claims related to extreme weather events, a figure consistent with the previous year. However, the number of claims surged significantly, with nearly 157,000 claims filed, marking an increase of 66,000 from the previous year.
The costliest weather event during this period was the Christmas storms, which affected areas including the Gold Coast hinterland, New South Wales, and Victoria, resulting in $1.33 billion in claims. Ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper, which struck Far North Queensland in December, was notably impactful, with the average claim amounting to $36,000.
