Local insurers continue to watch Victoria’s growing flood disaster

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6 September 2010

The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has declared the weekend’s Victorian floods a catastrophe, with the expectation of millions of dollars worth of damage.

A spokesman told insuranceNEWS.com.au ICA member companies are still collating details of claims and the council doesn’t yet have an accurate assessment of the financial exposure for insurers.

The floods are currently affecting the northeast of Victoria but are expected to spread during the week.

Some towns in the region, including Benalla and Euroa, have been flooded and a growing number of houses damaged.

Wangaratta, Shepparton and Horsham are expecting flood damage from today as rivers peak. The Gippsland region is expecting to be affected later this week.

There have been no reports of stock losses yet, but a number of dairy farms across the state experienced power losses due to high winds associated with the storms that swept across the state at the weekend.

Suncorp CEO Personal Insurance Mark Milliner told insuranceNEWS.com.au the insurer was still assessing its level of exposure but it expected at this stage it will be minimal.