Storms on the east coast a year ago were more costly than previously thought, according to catastrophe data analyst Perils.

The Swiss company’s fourth and final insurance industry loss estimate for the severe convective storms in Queensland, NSW and Victoria in late October 2025 is $1.62 billion.

This is up from a $1.5 billion estimate on April 30, six months after the event.

The figure covers the property and motor lines of business. Property losses amounted to 87% of the total, with 13% motor losses.

The storms mainly hit Queensland (94% of the total industry loss). Losses in NSW (4.5%) and Victoria (1.5%) were much lower.

The estimate is based on loss data collected from the majority of the Australian insurance market.

The most significant storm was in the Brisbane area on October 26 last year. A tornado caused damage in Melbourne’s western suburbs on the same day.

More storms hit southeast Queensland and parts of northern NSW on October 31 and November 1.

Perils head of Asia-Pacific Darryl Pidcock says the “threat of convective storm activity is still very real, as recent storm and flash flooding activity reminds us, especially during spring into early summer”.