Insurance losses from Australian storms reach A$1.55bn

BBC

Three people were killed following storms that hit much of eastern and central NSW in April

Severe storms that hit Australia during April and May have led to more than A$1.55bn ($1.18bn; £778m) in insurance losses so far.

The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) said its members had received almost 120,000 claims after April storms that hit widespread areas of New South Wales, including Sydney.

Three people were killed following the April NSW storms.

Other storms hit south-east Queensland and northern NSW during April and May. 

The ICA said insurance losses from the storms that hit widespread areas of eastern and central NSW had come to A$801.7m, of which A$629.6m was for domestic claims. 

Areas hit included Greater Sydney, the Central Coast and the Hunter region.

Two men and a woman were found dead in Dungog, north of Sydney, one of the worst affected areas from the April NSW storms.

Two men and a woman were found dead in Dungog north of Sydney, one of the worst affected areas from the April NSW storms

Separately, the storms that hit south-east Queensland and northern NSW from 30 April to 4 May had led to A$360.2m in losses, of which A$289.8m was for domestic claims.

"Insurers and insurance brokers continue to handle fresh claims from household and commercial policyholders," the ICA said. 

Declared catastrophes

Two major storms also hit Australia in February this year, damaging homes and forcing evacuations in coastal areas.

Tropical Cyclone Marcia hit the Queensland coast between Yeppoon and St Lawrence on 20 February, while Tropical Cyclone Lam hit a remote area of the Northern Territory.

Since November 2014 insurance claims for so-called ICA-declared catastrophes - including Cyclone Marcia, bushfires in South Australia and a hailstorm in Brisbane - had come to more than A$3.45bn.