Townsville flood declared ‘catastrophe’ by ICA

The Townsville flood in Queensland, Australia has been declared a catastrophe by the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) to “escalate the insurance industry’s response”.

More than a metre of rain fell in one week, beating previous records, and prompting authorities to open the gates of the Ross River dam to reduce swollen water levels. Residents were warned of a "risk to life" and "unprecedented flooding" that could affect up to 20,000 homes.

ICA CEO Rob Whelan said the Queensland Government and emergency services had told the council that dozens of homes and businesses may have been affected by the downpour and resulting inundation of the past few days.

“It is possible many more will be inundated in coming days, with some state government projections indicating thousands of homes could be affected,” he added. “Therefore, the ICA has declared a Catastrophe to help escalate the insurance industry’s response.”

He said that as of 8pm on Saturday 2 February, insurers had received about 1900 claims, with insurance losses estimated at $16.7 million.

“Many more claims are expected this weekend as residents examine the extent of their losses and contact their insurers.

“The ICA has declared this catastrophe to help reduce the emotional and financial stress being experienced by families and businesses, and provide them with peace of mind that their insurer is there to help.”

The declaration means insurers will prioritise claims from affected policyholders, these claims will be triaged to direct urgent assistance to the worst-affected, ICA representatives will be mobilised to work with local agencies and services and affected policyholders, and an industry taskforce has been established to address and identify issues that arise.