2019 Townsville Floods property loss estimated at A$1.2bn

The property insurance market loss the from the floods in Queensland, Australia, particular the city of Townsville, between January 26 and February 10 2019, is estimated at A$1.2 billion ($832 million). This is according to PERILS, the independent Zurich-based organisation providing industry-wide catastrophe insurance data.

This is PERILS’ fourth and final property loss estimate for the floods. It compares to the third loss estimate of A$1.2 billion which was issued by PERILS on August 10 2019, six months after the event. In line with the PERILS event definition, the PERILS loss number covers the property line of business only.

The fourth and final report provides a detailed market loss footprint which is based on collected loss data from affected insurers. The event loss information is broken down by postcode and by property lines of business. It is complemented with postcode level rain and flood metrics provided by JBA Risk Management and Risk Frontiers.

In combination with PERILS market sums insured, available in the identical postcode and Property LOB resolution, damage degrees as a percentage of sums insured can be derived and correlated with the provided flood metrics. Among other uses, this information facilitates the validation of flood vulnerability functions which will ultimately contribute to a better understanding of flood risk in the region.

Darryl Pidcock, Head of PERILS Asia-Pacific, commented: “This market loss footprint is another example illustrating the mission of PERILS to increase data availability for natural catastrophe events and to help the market better understand and manage natural catastrophe risks. In the same spirit, we are currently investigating the recent bushfires and hail events in Australia. We will provide further updates to the market using our standard approach and schedule once data collection has been completed.”

The Townsville floods were the result of a slow-moving monsoon system which brought exceptional rainfall to northern Queensland in late January and early February 2019. The resulting surface and river flooding caused devastation over large areas of rural northern Queensland, in particular affecting the farming industry and road infrastructure. Major insurance losses occurred in the city of Townsville, where flooding by the Ross and Bohle rivers resulted in severe damage to homes, businesses and public infrastructure. The resulting impact on the insurance industry represents the highest flood loss figure since the Brisbane Floods in 2011.

As a result of the event, two people were confirmed drowned in the flood waters, one person reported missing was never found and two people died from Melioidosis, a bacterial infection caused by a soil-borne bacterium stirred up by floodwaters.

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