Tropical Cyclone Alfred and its wave of destruction in Queensland and Northern NSW has been declared an insurance catastrophe by the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) which paves the way for the industry to prioritise claims from the weather event by businesses and households.

The catastrophe has also been extended to include the impact of storms across the region since Friday 28 February 2025 and the emerging flood risks currently facing areas such as the Lockyer Valley west of Brisbane.

The ICA says the industry has so far received about 3,000 claims following widespread power outages, heavy rain, flooding and falling debris as Cyclone Alfred made landfall on Saturday.

The damage so far has hit the Gold Coast, Brisbane, Hervey Bay and the Northern Rivers in NSW the hardest, although heavy rainfall and emerging thunderstorms since the cyclone was downgraded to a tropical low on Saturday are expected to broaden the impact area.

Insurance Australia Group (ASX: IAG), which owns NRMA Insurance, says that as of yesterday morning it had received about 400 claims for property damage across its brand portfolio, largely for wind damage to properties, fallen trees on homes and intense rainwater entering homes.

Suncorp Group (ASX: SUN) has received more than 1,200 claims, including 55 for motor vehicles with the most impacted suburbs to date being Upper Coomera and Ashmore on the Gold Coast and Banora Point just over the border at NSW.

The companies expect claim numbers to increase over the coming days as the event continues to unfold.

“Many people across South-East Queensland and Northern NSW have been impacted by extreme weather and natural disasters over the past few years, and we know this is an anxious time,” says NRMA Insurance executive general manager of claims Luke Gallagher.

“We have further bolstered our number of claims consultants who are standing by to lodge claims as quickly as possible.”

Suncorp’s CEO of consumer insurance Lisa Harrison says the insurer has mobilised its team to begin emergency repairs and offer immediate customer support.

“We are well prepared for this event,” says Harrison. “Our teams are already scaled up and assisting customers, while our builders are focused on emergency repairs.”

With the region still facing mass power outages and phone and internet networks disrupted, the insurers are expecting claim numbers to surge in the next few days.

At 10.30am (AEDT) today, Energex reported that 211,554 customers were still without power, down from 330,000 on Saturday night. The Gold Coast accounts for about 100,000 of the power outages.

Meanwhile, an emergency alert was issued for Lockyer Valley this morning due to heavy rainfall and dangerous flooding in the region with the Warrego Highway linking Brisbane and Toowoomba closed at Glenore Grove due to flooding. A major flood warning has been issued for Lockyer Creek.

Ipswich is also bracing for flooding along the Bremer River and Warrill Creek with the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) warning that major flooding near the March 2017 levels are likely in the city overnight.

BOM has also issued a warning this morning for intense rainfall and “very dangerous thunderstorms in the Somerset and Moreton Bay areas. Brisbane received 300mm since yesterday morning after heavy rain fell across the region on Sunday.

In Northern NSW, rising waters remain a concern along the Clarence, Richmond and Tweed rivers with the potential flooding from rains associated with the ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred system expected to be felt in NSW as far south as Moree and Tamworth.

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