One year on: ICA releases latest flood claims data

The latest figures from the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) have placed total insured losses at $5.76 billion for last year’s historic flooding in South-East Queensland and NSW.

The ICA reports that about 81% of the 239,538 flood-related claims from the catastrophe have been resolved as it continues to host in-person consultation forums for affected communities.

The figures come as the industry marks the first anniversary of Australia’s costliest natural disaster event on record.

IAG Direct Claims EGM Luke Gallagher reports that the insurer has resolved around 79% of the 44,517 claims filed by its policyholders.

“The floods that impacted these communities were one of the worst catastrophes to ever impact our nation and the repercussions for these residents is something we think about every day,” Mr Gallagher said.

Mr Gallagher praised the strength of the residents of communities such as Lismore, which had thousands of homes flooded within a day.

“The spirit and resilience of the people I met in these communities, the care and support they provided each other, and their determination to rebuild their communities was incredible to see, given everything they’d been through,” Mr Gallagher said.

But local brokers have continued to flag concerns with the ongoing efforts of insurers to aid affected policyholders.

“Overall, the service standard expected from the insurers has not been acceptable to the insureds or brokers,” Avid Insurance Brokers MD Dave Katschke told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

“It is not uncommon for our office to contact an insurer on multiple occasions and not receive a response for weeks.”

Mr Katschke says concerns continue to mount for residents, with many at risk of losing their temporary housing benefits provided by their insurers as claims times stretch beyond a year.

“For those who have not already done so, we are seeing insureds move back into their partially repaired properties or back with family/friends,” Mr Katschke said.

“For the most part, properties are ‘liveable’ but not restored back to the condition that they were in 12 months ago.”

As governments and insurers continue to help residents, IAG Natural Perils Executive Manager Mark Leplastrier says a collective and coordinated effort must be made for communities that continue to be at risk for flooding events.

“To lessen the impact of severe weather in the future, it is critical that all levels of government, businesses and communities work together to reduce the risks faced by people in high-risk areas.” Mr Leplastrier said.

Mr Leplastrier welcomed the recently announced Federal Government initiative, which will commit $30 million to help improve flood pumps in Lismore.