Update on Claims from Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred
The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has provided updates indicating that the effects of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred may not be as severe as initially anticipated in most of the affected regions, according to Kylie Macfarlane, Deputy CEO at ICA.
Currently, insurers have registered over 63,600 claims related to this event. Over the past weekend, an influx of 10,000 additional claims was recorded, primarily associated with food spoilage, wind damage, and water ingress.
On March 13, the ICA noted that insurers had received more than 44,000 claims spanning Southeast Queensland and Northern New South Wales, up from 34,000 the day before. By March 14, Aon reported an increase to 53,182 claims, indicating that both economic and insured loss impacts are likely to exceed several hundred million AUD.
Out of the 63,672 claims currently documented, the majority, 58,774, originate from Queensland, while 4,898 are from New South Wales. The breakdown of these claims includes:
- Home insurance: 58,307 claims
- Motor insurance: 2,623 claims
- Commercial insurance: 2,742 claims
The ICA has emphasized that insurers are actively present in the affected areas and will continue to offer in-person support in the forthcoming weeks. In addition, the ICA has introduced a new Expression of Interest (EOI) form to attract interstate tradespeople to aid in recovery and reconstruction efforts.
According to Kylie Macfarlane, “The increase in the number of claims over the weekend is an encouraging indicator that clean-up and recovery efforts are progressing well across many areas of southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales. While it remains premature to estimate the total insured loss from this weather event, the claims data suggest that the event’s impact is not as severe as initially feared in most affected areas. We urge any policyholders who are aware of damage but have not yet filed a claim to contact their insurer promptly to initiate the claims process, even if the full extent of damage is not yet clear.”
