Insurance catastrophe declared for Vic, Tas and NSW following October floods

The Insurance Council of Australia has declared an Insurance Catastrophe for regions of Victoria, Tasmania and NSW that have been impacted by storms and flooding since 12 October.

The escalation from the earlier Significant Event declaration points to the growing severity of the current floods and the further extreme weather expected to impact the affected regions.

According to the ICA, as of Wednesday 19 October, insurers had received 6,350 claims relating to floods across the three states, with Victoria being the most severely impacted state.

Under the Insurance Catastrophe declaration, claims by policyholders affected by the floods will be prioritised, with those from worst-affected policyholders escalated to trigger urgent assistance.

For more information on the declaration, visit the Insurance Council of Australia website here.

As flooding continues to spread, the Government has extended financial support to additional flood-impacted regions.

Financial support extended to more Victorians and NSW residents

Financial support has been extended to 10 additional Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Victoria and 12 additional LGAs in NSW.

Residents in these LGAs may apply for a one-off, non-means tested Disaster Recovery Payment of $1000 per adult and $400 per child.

The payment is available to residents to have suffered a significant loss as a result of the flood, such as a severely damaged or destroyed home or serious injury. Residents have until 22 April 2023 to make a claim.

In total, the Disaster Recovery Allowance is now available to 24 LGAs across Victoria and 43 LGAs across NSW.

Disaster Assistance extended in NSW

Disaster assistance has also been extended to an additional 12 LGAs in NSW.

Provided through the jointly-funded Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA), assistance includes:

• individual assistance for immediate essential needs (e.g. food, clothing, temporary housing), essential household contents replacement and repair, and structural repairs or replacement
• storm and flood clean-up assistance for households, businesses, primary producers and local councils
• concessional interest rate loans for small businesses, not-for-profit organisations and primary producers
• Emergency Assistance Grants of up to $1,000 ($250 per adult and $125 per child).

For more information on the assistance available for each state, and how to apply, click here.