Wide Bay homes takes brunt of wild summer weather

A third of at least one insurance company’s insurance claims this summer came from the Wide Bay, with Cooloola Cove copping the worst in Qld, followed by Maryborough, Tinana and Curra.

The latest NRMA Insurance Wild Weather Tracker revealed Wide Bay–Burnett was the hardest hit region in Queensland this summer, with a third of the insurers QLD wild weather claims coming from the region. Meanwhile, Cooloola Cove was the hardest hit town or suburb in the state this summer - followed by Maryborough (2), Tinana (3) and Curra (4).

New claims data released on Tuesday, March 21, 2023, revealed the impact of storms and wild weather damage this summer, with more than a third of all Queensland home claims caused by wild weather, and claims nearly double those recorded in spring.

The latest NRMA Insurance Wild Weather Tracker revealed the Wide Bay Burnett was the hardest hit region in Queensland this summer, with a third of the insurer’s Queensland claims coming from the region.

Cooloola Cove was the hardest hit town or suburb in Queensland, followed by Maryborough (2), Tinana (3) and Curra (4).

The Tracker also revealed that Wide Bay and Burnett residents felt better prepared for wild weather, with the region‘s self-assessed wild weather ready score rising four points to 72/100 – to be the second best in the state.

Huge hail at Curra as storms tracked across the Wide Bay in late 2022.

In addition, the Tracker included new research (of 3500 Australians including 1000 Queensland residents) revealing that those considering moving home were more likely to research where they could grab a coffee or dine locally, than the risks to their safety and property from wild weather:

The Tracker showed that NRMA Insurance received 10,120 claims for wild weather damage to homes and vehicles nationally this summer just ended, the lowest number received over a summer period in the past six years of tracking claims.

Despite a relatively mild season compared to previous years, most of the claims received were for damage to homes (7645) with nearly half (47 per cent) of all home claims across the country caused by severe weather.

“With the increasing frequency and severity of wild weather, it’s important for all Australians, and particularly those moving to a new area, to know their local weather risks,” NRMA Insurance Executive General Manager Direct Claims Luke Gallagher said.

“Severe weather risks vary significantly by location, and even within towns and suburbs. Knowing the specific risks you face is vital, whether that’s a high risk such as flood, bushfire and cyclone, or even general risks from wind and storm damage to your property. Not understanding this level of risk can have major safety and financial impacts.

“For example, one common misconception is that a 1-in-100-year flood risk means a flood will only happen every hundred years, when in fact, this means there’s a one percent chance of a significant flood in any year.”

Originally published as Wide Bay homes takes brunt of wild summer weather