ICA makes catastrophe declaration after storms and flooding devastate NSW

The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has declared a catastrophe for large parts of New South Wales (NSW) following the devastating storms and flooding of the last few days that has led to over 5,000 claims being logged with insurers.

The ICA’s catastrophe declaration escalates and prioritises the insurance industry’s response for affected policyholders, meaning claims from affected policyholders will be given priority and will be triaged to direct urgent assistance to the worst-affected property owners.

ICA said it had established an industry taskforce to identify and address issues arising from this catastrophe. Insurers will mobilise disaster response specialists to assist affected customers with claims and assessments as soon as emergency services say it is safe to do so, ICA added.

Insurers will continue to monitor the situation in south-east Queensland to determine if a catastrophe declaration is also required for that area.

Andrew Hall, ICA’s chief executive officer, said it remains too early to understand the extent of the damage to property in affected areas or to estimate the insurance damage bill. “As many areas are currently inaccessible due to floodwater, insurers are expecting further claims in coming days as emergency services allow residents to return to their properties to examine the extent of their damage and losses,” he said.

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