Australian hailstorms cost insurance market A$1.88bn

Zurich-based catastrophe insurance data provider  PERILS has released its fourth and final insured loss estimate for the January 2020 Australian hailstorms.

The final estimate of the insurance market loss is A$1.887 billion ($1.46 billion), covering the property and motor hull lines of business. This represents an increase of almost 4.2 percent from the previous estimate of A$1.811 billion released in July 2020.

According to the loss data collected from the majority of the Australian insurance market, PERILS said motor losses contributed 42 percent of the total industry loss, while 58 percent were due to losses in property lines.

The hailstorms, which occurred between 19-21 January 2020, affected the Australian states of Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory.

Darryl Pidcock, head of PERILS Asia Pacific, commented: “This release is the final report for one of the largest Australian hailstorm events in the last 30 years. Given its impact on the industry, we are convinced that the detailed industry loss footprint we have provided today will contribute to a better understanding of hail risk in Australia.

"The need for detailed loss and exposure data for hail was further highlighted by the two significant hail events in Queensland that occurred later in the year. Together with the January event, these hailstorms have generated more than A$3.5bn in losses for the insurance industry in 2020.”

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