According to data from the Insurance Council of Australia, five weather events in 2025 were classified as “significant or catastrophic.”
These events included the flooding in North Queensland in February, ex-tropical cyclone Alfred in March, floods in the Mid North Coast of NSW in May, and two major storm events in October and November impacting Queensland and NSW.
Although Alfred had diminished to a tropical low by the time it reached the Gold Coast and southeast Queensland on March 8, it still became the costliest event of the year.
Following Alfred, over 132,000 insurance claims were filed, amounting to a total of more than $1.5 billion in damages.
Severe hailstorms in October and November also resulted in extensive damage across Queensland and NSW, with over 105,000 claims filed and a collective damage cost of $1.4 billion.
Insurance companies anticipate that the total damage costs will increase as additional claims from other local severe weather events are submitted.
But the cost is already huge compared to 2024, when the insurance bill from extreme weather came to $581 million – itself down from $2.35 billion in 2023.
The council said this demonstrated ”the unpredictable nature of extreme weather”.
