Bushfire crisis costs Australia $353m in insurance claims
There have been nearly 4300 insurance claims made over the catastrophic bushfires burning across four Australian states, with numbers expected to jump ahead of potentially deadly conditions forecast this weekend.
NSW
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The damage bill from bushfires raging across the country since September has hit $353 million.
Insurers have received 4299 claims since the devastating NSW blazes were declared a catastrophe in November, with the disaster spreading to Queensland, South Australia and Victoria.
That is up by 429 claims in the past day — or $59 million in losses — as authorities gear up for dangerous conditions to worsen on the fire-ravaged NSW south coast this weekend.
The Insurance Council of Australia expects hundreds of claims to be lodged over the next few days once power and mobile reception is restored to those shattered communities and as evacuated homeowners return to inspect the damage.
Spokesman Campbell Fuller said the bushfire emergency may run for months in some parts of Australia, while the council is closely monitoring risks in Tasmania and WA.
“It’s still early days … this really is a national issue,” he said.
“Insurers have certainly been concerned about the drought, the incredibly hot year ahead and the incredibly low rainfall.”
Thousands of holiday-makers are fleeing the NSW south coast ahead of what Premier Gladys Berejiklian has warned could be “fatal” weather conditions on Saturday.
With seven people dead and nearly 200 homes lost, the navy has been called in to help communities grappling with dwindling access to food and running water in an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.
The ICA has reassured fretting survivors not to panic if they lose their insurance paperwork, as companies keep electronic records.
Mr Fuller said people should only return to their property when it is safe to do so, noting most policies include emergency accommodation.
Homeowners must also get written permission from their insurers before doing any repairs, and should take plenty of photographs and video of damage in the meantime.
“Be careful of scammers knocking on doors offering to do emergency repairs for cash, or offering to sign bushfire victims up for services … some try to gain bank account details,” he said.
“These people are active in fire grounds right now and they are preying on vulnerable people.”
About 72 per cent of insurance claims so far are from NSW, yet it has a much lower rate of cover than other states, while nationally about 8 out of 10 homeowners and renters are likely to be under insured.
Mr Fuller said while any bushfire-related claims will be prioritised, it will take some time to assess them while many affected areas are still inaccessible.
Insurance assessors are bracing for an influx of calls and have been deployed to local evacuation centres ready to inspect houses.
But primary producers can humanely euthanise critically injured animals without an assessor visit, the ICA says.
The council’s disaster hotline – 1800 734 621 – is receiving dozens of calls every hour from policy holders seeking help.
Originally published as Bushfire crisis costs Australia $353m in insurance claims
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