We have all seen the devastating effect of the floods in Northern NSW and South-East Queensland.  Our first claim was notified in the afternoon on Saturday 26 February and others were notified in the following days.  Despite difficulties relating to road closures and access to campuses, we had a loss adjuster on the ground, assessing damage on Monday morning.  We have claims from five Members in South-East Queensland and one in Northern NSW.  A few days later, as the weather system moved down the coast, we received claim notifications from two Members in the Sydney region.

Although it is still very early days, it looks as though we shall have claims totalling $30m – $40m for the affected Members.  Unfortunately, the surge in demand created by an event like this, combined with existing supply-chain difficulties, means that repair costs will be inflated and the timeframe for repairs will be extended.  In the short term, the higher costs will be borne by the reinsurers but they may ultimately lead to higher premiums at renewal.  Our immediate concern is to assist the affected Members as quickly and as well as we can, so that they can resume normal activities with as little delay as possible.  Within three weeks of the loss, we had made sizeable progress payments to two of the affected Members, which was greatly appreciated.

“International House has had more than enough experience with floods, having 4 metres of water in 1974, 3 metres in 2011 and 2 metres in 2022!  My experience relates to the last two periods in my role as Director and CEO tasked with the management of the post-flood event.  Unimutual have been “5 star” in their responsiveness, flexibility  and professionalism with our loss adjustor, make safe and rebuild crews on the ground as the water finally receded.  I am buoyed by how quickly we are progressing through the various clean up stages whilst ensuring our business continuity. Quite the team effort!”  Carla Tromans, International House.

“The Unimutual team have been extremely responsive in managing our current property claim. We had people on the ground assessing damage within days of the claim being notified, and assistance with remediation underway a short time later. This is quite remarkable given the widespread impact of the recent flood event. Jamie and the team have been in regular contact following the flood and always respond very quickly on any matters related to the claim.”  Kazia Lombardo, Southern Cross University.

“We contacted Unimutual on Saturday 26^th February and they appointed a loss assessor immediately. The loss assessor was onsite the following Monday, despite continuing water inundation in the area. Unimutual have been very responsive to the many questions we have asked over the following weeks, and made a significant progress payment only three weeks into the claim.”  Lucy Kenny, University of Queensland.

If we think back a few years, our largest claims were always fire claims.  However, this is no longer the case.  Our largest claims in recent years have usually been caused by significant weather events.  These events are so extreme as to be almost unimaginable until they happen.  In 2018, we saw significant flooding in Canberra and Hobart, leading to major losses for two Members.  The 2019-20 bushfire season was incredibly severe, although our Members suffered negligible losses.  In 2020, we saw the Canberra hailstorm, which led to the largest loss (by far) in the Mutual’s history.  Last year, there was a significant tornado in Armidale NSW, which produced a large loss.  And now, in 2022, we have seen almost apocalyptic flooding in parts of the East coast of Australia.  The trend is clear – extreme weather events are becoming worse and more frequent, presenting challenges for many sectors of the economy, and particularly for the insurance and education sectors in which the Mutual operates.