Australian re/insurers to foot nearly A$1bn bill for severe October storms

Insurance industry loss estimates for the severe storms that battered Southern Australia in October-end 2021 has remained unchanged at A$1.028 billion ($735 million), as per the latest data revealed by cat loss aggregator  PERILS.

The Southern Australia severe storms, which occurred during the period of October 28 to 30, generated damaging hail, wind and severe thunderstorms across the states of South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania.

The Adelaide region of South Australia initially experienced heavy hailstorms and strong winds on October 28. On the following day, south-eastern Victoria including Melbourne was impacted by heavy rainfall, hail and strong wind gusts. The system moved on to Tasmania, causing strong winds and torrential rain. The combination of hail, strong winds and surface water flooding due to torrential rainfall caused widespread damage to buildings and vehicles.

PERILS' second loss estimate is based on loss data collected from the majority of the Australian insurance market and includes losses in the property and motor hull lines of business.

It said an updated estimate of the market loss from the event, including a detailed footprint breaking down the industry loss into postcode area and lines of business, will be made available on May 2, 2022, six months after the event end date.

Darryl Pidcock (pictured), head of PERILS Asia-Pacific, commented: “The weather patterns witnessed during spring and summer 2021/22 in Australia are strikingly different to those of a year ago, when Australia suffered very hot and dry conditions resulting in one of the biggest bushfire seasons in living memory.

“This year has been characterised by very wet weather with frequent torrential rain and hail events. The change in large-scale weather patterns is linked to the switch from El Niño to La Niña conditions. La Niña was predicted by the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) to bring above average rainfall across much of northern and eastern Australia this year and so it did. More recently, the BOM stated that La Niña is set to reach its peak in January and might disappear by April, which should result in a reduction in extreme rain and hail events.”

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