Melbourne storms declared an official catastrophe, bringing insured losses in Australia to $4.5 billion

Melbourne, the second largest city in Australia, had turbulent Christmas Day as a series of severe storms impacted the city. The storms have caused a large amount of damage to businesses and the city’s energy infrastructure, according to insurer QBE. On the day of the storm, insurers fielded more than 15,000 claims and more have been trickling in over the past week. The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has declared the storms an official catastrophe, making the event the eighth disaster declaration in the country in just under a year.…

Read More

Australia: Property insurance risk are being recalculated

The flooding that struck Australia’s Queensland some months back was expected to have severe ramifications on the insurance industry. Now, officials are reporting that rates for homeowners are going to be raised by as much as 30%. Queensland residents have been receiving renewal notices for their policies’ premiums will be increasing. Many of these policyholders own property that survived the flooding without any damage, leading them to question the rate increase. Insurers claim a myriad of reasons behind the rate increase. While the flooding is a prominent factor, they assert…

Read More