View this article online: https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2019/06/20/529946.htm
Insured losses for the hailstorms, which hit the greater Sydney region on Dec. 20, 2018, have risen to A$766 million (US$526.6 million), according to PERILS, in its third loss estimate for the storms.
PERILS, the independent Zurich-based organization that provides industry-wide catastrophe insurance data, said the estimate also includes the losses from the storm activity in southeastern Queensland on Dec. 21-22, 2018.
This loss estimate has risen from the second loss estimate of A$633 million ($435.2 million) issued by PERILS on March 20, 2019, three months after the event.
Describing the event, PERILS said, a large convective storm system brought intense hail to the greater Sydney region on Dec. 20, 2018, causing one of the biggest hailstorm losses on record. The hailstorms were part of a convective storm system which affected Sydney and surrounding regions in New South Wales. Multiple storm cells generated strong winds, rainfall and intense hail with hailstones of more than 8 centimeters (3.2 inches) in diameter. Severe thunderstorms also occurred in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast on Dec. 21 and 22, which caused additional industry losses.
In line with the PERILS event definition, the PERILS loss number covers the property line of business only. Losses from motor and other lines of business are not included.
This PERILS’ report marks the first time that a detailed market loss footprint, based on collected insurance loss data at postcode level, has been made available for an Australian hail event, said PERILS, noting that the event loss information is complemented with information on damage degrees and hail intensities based on radar measurements by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology.
The data also allows subscribers to compare the loss footprint information with the market sums insured for the affected regions (also provided by PERILS). Damage degree functions as a percentage of total sums insured can then be derived and correlated with hail intensities.
In addition, the information enables users to validate vulnerability functions in probabilistic cat models with actual, high-quality and independent market data. As such, the Sydney hailstorms loss footprint will contribute to a better understanding of the peril of hail and its effects on insured property risks in Australia, affirmed PERILS.
In line with the PERILS loss reporting schedule, the fourth loss estimate for Sydney hailstorms will be released on Dec. 20, 2019, 12 months after the event.
Source: PERILS
Photo credit: Photo of hailstorm over Sydney on Dec. 20, 2018 taken by Brendan Esposito/AAP Image via AP.
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