Australian East Coast Low insured losses lifted to A$989m

Insurance losses from the February 2020 Australian East Coast Low, which mainly affected the states of New South Wales and Queensland, have reached A$989 million ($766.8 million).

Zurich-based catastrophe insurance data provider PERILS' final industry loss estimates are slightly up from the third loss estimate of A$958 million issued in August, six months after the event.

The final estimate is based on detailed loss data collected from the majority of the Australian insurance market, covering the property and motor hull lines of business.

Property damage accounted for the vast majority of losses with 94 percent attributable to this line of business, while motor losses represented 6 percent of the total industry losses.

Australian East Coast Lows are very intense low-pressure systems classified as extratropical cyclones which can affect an area stretching from South East Queensland to North East Victoria. The East Coast Low of February 2020 was a typical example of such an event, which resulted in very intense rainfall, flash and river flooding and strong winds from early to mid-February 2020.

In combination, these weather features caused widespread damage primarily along the coastal areas of New South Wales (88 percent of the industry loss) and South East Queensland (11 percent of the industry loss).

Darryl Pidcock, head of PERILS Asia-Pacific, said: “Today’s release constitutes the first complete schedule of reports produced by PERILS for an Australian East Coast Low event and this final detailed industry loss footprint will help further enhance the insurance industry’s understanding of such losses. During the current summer, Australia’s east coast has continued to experience considerable rainfall and storms due primarily to the influence of La Niña.

"This report is a reminder that in addition to bushfires, hailstorms and tropical cyclones, the east coast is also exposed to large-scale extratropical cyclone systems which can have a considerable impact on the insurance industry.”

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