East coast storm claims jump to USD235mn

A surge in claims has pushed the insurance costs of severe east coast storms to USD235 million.

Insurers have received almost 32,000 claims across Queensland, NSW, Victoria and Tasmania, and residents and business owners are still lodging claims, the Insurance Council of Australia said.

Heavy rainfall, strong winds and king tides lashed the east coast almost a fortnight ago, leading to massive coastal erosion and causing fatal floods in Tasmania.

Insurance costs have risen significantly from the initial USD38 million bill estimated by ICA a week ago, but are still a fraction of the cost insurers had to bear from similar storms in April 2015.

Suncorp, the company behind AAMI and GIO, said it expects to pay out between USD60 million and USD80 million in insurance claims related to the recent storms.