“Storm of the Century” Strikes NSW Coast and the Hunter Region

Expert in this field

Cyclonic conditions wreaked havoc on the Hunter, Sydney, Central Coast and Illawarra regions yesterday with the Bureau of Meteorology predicting conditions to continue today.

Relentless and destructive winds, heavy rainfall and flash flooding have affected the areas leaving over 200,000 homes without power and forcing over 100 people to be rescued from floodwaters.

Emergency Services have responded to more than 8,000 calls for help resulting from flash flooding, fallen trees and downed power lines. Residents nearby the Manly Dam have been given an evacuation warning and major flood warnings are in place for the Paterson and Williams Rivers and in the lower Hunter River in Maitland.

The event has been declared a catastrophe by the ICA and over 19,500 insurance claims have been received already. We have mobilised a dedicated Catastrophe Response Team which includes our Major & Complex Loss (MCL) Team who are highly experienced in the complexities of severe storm losses. All will be working hard to provide a swift response to customers.

Our industry leading catastrophe response plan is designed to ensure that careful triage when processing claims is taken as well as the effective management of all suppliers involved throughout the claim.

Sergon – Our building consultants have a thorough understanding of the issues and costs escalation elements that may affect your claim. Sergon are available to prepare Causation Reports, Scope of Works or Quantity Surveying Valuations to assist with major property claims.

Oriel Property Services – Can provide fixed rate room restoration, flood mitigation and general restoration services. A project manager will be onsite should you require restoration project management or mitigation works to be undertaken.

Forensic Advisory Services – Our qualified team of independent forensic accountants specialise in business interruption and financial losses with extensive experience in catastrophe and major loss quantification.

For immediate assistance or further information please contact your Account Manager, local office or below:

Greenwich Office
02 9934 5000

Newcastle Office
02 4940 0206

24/7 Customer Service Centre
1800 877 285 or
[email protected]

Catastrophe Client Managers
Brian Doughty – 0417 238 083 or
Katrina Pobre – 0420 960 023