Friday, 30 September 2022  

The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) today released new data showing more than half of insurance claims related to the February and March floods have been closed. 

The latest figures reveal a 10 per cent increase from last month in claims closed, with $2.81 billion or 54 per cent of all claims now finalised for those customers impacted by Australia’s costliest flood.  

Insured losses have increased slightly from last month to $5.45 billion from about 234,000 claims. 

The time required to settle or resolve a claim depends on the type of claim, the assessment and analysis that’s required to make a claim decision, and the complexity of the repair or settlement. The more complex the analysis, assessment and rebuild required, the longer a claim will take to process. 

Claims closure times are being impacted by the high volume of claims, a shortage of experts required to assess and manage flood claims, building labour and materials constraints, and the complexity of recovery and resilience programs delivered by both the Queensland and New South Wales governments.  

The data update follows the release of the Insurance Council’s Insurance Catastrophe Resilience Report 2021-22 and research from the McKell Institute, which found extreme weather events over the past 12 months cost every Australian household an average of $1,532.    

McKell’s The Cost of Extreme Weather report shows that over the last 10 years the average annual household cost of extreme weather has been $888, but that this figure is expected to jump to more than $2,500 a year by 2050.  

Comment attributable to Andrew Hall, CEO, Insurance Council of Australia: 

Insurers have been working hard to see claims settled and closed following the devastating February and March East Coast Floods, and we are confident this momentum will continue leading into summer. 

While we remain concerned that summer forecasts a continuation of La Niña conditions, insurers are geared up and working through the current claims as quickly as possible. 

We encourage Queensland, New South Wales and the Federal Government to continue to expedite their build back and buy back programs as soon as possible to give those communities certainty.  

Our recent reports and research show that these events are becoming increasingly costly for Australian households, and clearly demonstrate the impact of worsening extreme weather. 

To ensure Australians continue to have access to affordable insurance protection, we must increase investment in the resilience of our built and natural environments, and, in parallel, address the underlying cause of more severe weather events. 

Saturday, 17 September 2022

The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) says now is the time to prepare property for what is forecast to be a wet spring and possibly summer across eastern Australia, following the declaration of a La Niña weather pattern by the Bureau of Meteorology.

The predicted La Niña would be the third in a row for eastern Australia.

In 2021 and 2022 La Niña rain patterns led to destructive floods across many communities in parts of south-east Queensland and New South Wales.

For communities with sodden soils, full catchments and flood damaged homes not yet repaired this is unwelcome news.

The 2021 and 2022 combined insurance damage bill for La Niña-generated east coast storm and flooding is at $5.92 B with more than 296,000 claims lodged.

However, there are preparatory steps that property owners can take now, particularly in areas with a history of flooding, to reduce the potential impact of the forecast heavy rain and possible flood on property, finances and wellbeing.

The Insurance Council’s top five prep steps are:

1. Review all building, contents, and landlord insurance policies, checking cover for flood and storm. Check cover for temporary accommodation for people and pets.
2. Review your building and contents sum insured, checking that the insurance sum matches current replacement, repair and rebuild costs for your home and contents. Using a building and contents insurance calculator to check the current value helps avoid the shock of finding out you are underinsured after an event.
3. Prepare a room-by-room inventory of the contents of your home. This list helps determine if you have enough insurance and can save time when making a claim.
4. Ensure you are covered now before the forecast La Niña rain starts to fall, as some insurers may place a temporary embargo on the purchase of new policies if storm and flooding is imminent.
5. Inspect your property and take practical steps such as clearing gutters and downpipes to help water escape to reduce the risk of overflow and damage to walls and ceilings. Ensure your roof, windows and doors can withstand heavy rainfall.

Quote attributable to ICA CEO Andrew Hall:  

The last couple of years have shown the impact that heavy rains can have on property, livelihoods, and our own well-being.

We can’t control the weather, but there are practical steps we can all take to reduce the risk that storm and flood can bring or make recovery from those events easier.

Following our top five prep steps will mean you are better prepared for the heavy rainfalls that have been predicted by the Bureau of Meteorology.