Insurance claims for wild weather damage this year already exceed 2024 total
Insurance claims for wild weather in the first five months of this year have already surpassed 2024 for at least one major insurer, as the community tallies the cost of Cyclone Alfred and the NSW floods.
NRMA Insurance said it had received 32,000 claims for wild weather-related damage to both vehicles and property between January and May this year, including cyclones, devastating floods, damaging winds and storms. While unusually high, it did not surpass the 53,716 claims in the first five months of 2022 for damage from widespread floods and an east coast low.
Climate Change Authority chair Matt Kean said Australia needed to reduce emissions to limit further climate warming, while also mounting a strong national adaptation effort to protect the nation against the risks that were already here.
'It's no surprise the damage bill is mounting,' Kean said. 'This underscores the need for practical action like updating building codes and extending cyclone construction standards further down the coast.'
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The Albanese government has invested $27.4 million in Australia's first-ever National Climate Risk Assessment and a related National Adaptation Plan, but it is yet to be released. The Climate Change Authority will on Thursday publish a report examining the perils of climate change for home owners, including the implications of ex-tropical Cyclone Alfred and expectations of more southerly cyclones.
CSIRO research suggests every $1 invested in climate resilience saves up to $11 in recovery costs.
Alfred was the first cyclone to threaten South East Queensland and northern NSW in 50 years. Peter Chan, a meteorologist and executive manager with NRMA's natural perils team, said back in 1974 when Cyclone Zoe and Cyclone Wanda hit, there were 2 million people living in South East Queensland and now there were 4 million. By 2046, the population of the region is expected to grow to 6 million.
NRMA Insurance covers every state and territory except Victoria, where IAG insurance is sold by RACV. Chan said Queensland experienced its worst season for wild weather claims back to at least 2017 – and that it took just 66 days for the state to surpass its total claims due to weather damage in 2024.
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