Final Loss Estimate for Australia’s Cyclone Debbie Is A$1.7B (US$1.3B): PERILS

The final property insurance loss estimate for Australia’s Tropical Cyclone Debbie is A$1.7 billion (US$1.3 billion), according to PERILS, the independent Zurich-based organization that provides industry-wide catastrophe insurance data.

Cyclone Debbie hit the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales from March 28, 2017 until the early part of April.

This fourth and final loss estimate is level with the third loss estimate, which was was issued by PERILS on 28 September 2017, six months after the event.

This is the first Australian catastrophe event for which a market loss footprint, based on loss data collected from affected insurance companies, is available at a postcode level and by property line of business, said PERILS.

In addition, the data has been divided between those losses classified as “cyclone” and those classified as “flood.” The combination of loss information with PERILS market sums insured allows users to derive damage degree functions as a percentage of total sums insured (TSI) for both cyclone and flood, PERILS continued.

As already available in the third loss report, the loss footprint information is complemented by postcode-level gust-speed values sourced from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and Risk Frontiers, and by postcode-level rain intensity measures provided by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM). This allows subscribers to validate vulnerability functions in probabilistic Cat models with actual, high-quality, independent market data, among other uses.

“This final footprint for Debbie has again been produced by collecting detailed loss data from affected insurance companies,” commented Darryl Pidcock, head of PERILS Asia-Pacific.

“The coverage and quality of this information has enabled us to create an accurate loss picture for what was a complex storm, impacting a wide area with flood and wind, and resulting in materially different impacts over the affected areas. This real data also enables subscribers to validate their model assumptions,” he added.

“The preparation of this data requires considerable effort on the part of the data-providing companies. We are extremely grateful for their continued support and remain committed to returning value in the form of high-quality industry data which helps them to manage their exposure to Australian cat risk,” Pidcock went on to say.

Source: PERILS

Related:

• PERILS Raises Insured Loss Estimate for Cyclone Debbie to A$1.7B (US$1.34B)
• Australia’s Cyclone Debbie Estimated to Cost Insurers US$825.7M: PERILS
• Insurers to Pay an Estimated $1.3B for Cyclone Debbie: Swiss Re
• Cat-Insurance Data Provider PERILS Expands Into Australia

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