Australian storm costs rise
March 09, 2010
THE violent storms that have hit Australia in the past few days look almost certain to see insurers’ attachment points reached, with liabilities moving on to the reinsurance sector. Queensland-based Suncorp Metway said today that it had already received 12,500 claims through brands AAMI and GIO. Insurance Australia Group (IAG), said that it had received more than 10,000 claims by late Monday, with most claims relating to hail damage to cars, flooding, falling branches, flooding of homes and damage to roofs from hail, wind, rain or falling trees. IAG said that its reinsurance kicked in when a single event caused payments in excess of A$135m (US$123m), while Suncorp Metway said that its attachment point was A$200m. Melbourne appears to have suffered the most, with hailstones “the size of tennis balls” and a “mini-cyclone” bringing winds in the region of 60mph. A month’s...