'Insurance catastrophe' on the cards for 4 million affected by Cyclone Alfred

As the cyclone cut power to tens of thousands of homes and dozens of evacuation orders were carried out across northern NSW and south-east Queensland, the Insurance Council of Australia board met and spoke with Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones.

"While it's still too early to know what the true impact of this weather event will be, we know that due to the population density in these areas that we may be looking at a very large number of claims," council chief executive Andrew Hall said in a statement.

An "insurance catastrophe", which prioritises the industry's response and triggers special support and services for homeowners and businesses within an affected zone, "may be made for this event", a council spokesperson said.

Mr Hall said it was too soon to know the cost of Cyclone Alfred.

"While it's still too early to know what the true impact of this weather event will be, we know that due to the population density in these areas that we may be looking at a very large number of claims," he said.

The devastating 2022 floods claimed 13 lives, leaving 4055 properties uninhabitable.

It was the costliest insured event in Australian history, amounting to $6.4 billion in insured losses and 245,000 claims, according to the insurance council.

Tropical Cyclone Jasper in 2023 cost $409 million from around 10,500 claims, the council said.

Only 23 per cent of the 225,000 homes in the highest flood-risk locations around Australia have flood cover.

The insurance industry is calling for a flood defence fund of $30.15 billion over 10 years to cover relocation of flood-prone properties through buy-backs, new flood defence infrastructure, property defence strengthening, and to future-proof existing infrastructure.

Members of the public seeking emergency assistance during a flood or storm should call the NSW State Emergency Service on 132 500, or visit their website www.ses.nsw.gov.au.

NSW Police remind people in flood-affected areas to register their movements using the Register, Find, Reunite website - https://www.redcross.org.au/emergencies/about-register-find-reunite/ - which is a National system managed and operated by Australian Red Cross.

For the latest weather warnings, please visit the Bureau of Meteorology website: http://www.bom.gov.au/.

The Public Information and Inquiry Centre can be contacted by calling 1800 227 228.