Australia’s Christmas storms cause AU$1.5b industry loss

The storm brought hail sizes of up to 10cm.

PERILS, the Zurich-based organisation providing industry-wide catastrophe insurance data, updated the insurance market loss from Australia’s Christmas storms, which reached $990m (AU$1.55b).

The Australia Christmas Storms, which impacted Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland from 23 to 29 December was initially estimated to cause $920m (AU$1.4b) issued on 14 February, covering property and motor hull lines of business.

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The storms brought severe convective activity, including large hail, intense winds, flash floods, and tornadoes, with hail sizes of up to 10cm in diameter reported. 

The weather pattern resulted from a low-pressure system over southeastern Australia being blocked by a high-pressure system over the northern Tasman Sea, causing considerable damage across the affected states.

($1.00 = AU$1.52)