PERILS, the Zurich-based independent provider of catastrophe insurance market data, has released its third industry loss estimate related to the severe convective storms that hit Queensland and New South Wales from 21 to 27 November 2025.
PERILS reports that the latest industry loss estimate is A$2.943 billion, which is essentially the same as the A$2.950 billion estimate released three months after the incident. The company’s first estimate, released six weeks after the storm, was A$2.663 billion.
According to PERILS, the estimate is compiled based on detailed claims information collected from most participants in the Australian insurance market. The data is disaggregated by postcode and covers the real estate and automotive hull business lines, consistent with the company’s reporting methodology in Australia. The report also includes zip code-level estimates of maximum hail intensity.
Residential property claims accounted for the largest share of losses at 67%, while commercial property losses accounted for 21%, PERILS said. Automobile-related claims accounted for the remaining 12% of total insured losses.
The company noted that Queensland was the worst-affected state, accounting for 91 per cent of industry losses, with New South Wales accounting for a further 8 per cent.
PERILS said the storm affected a large swath of Australia’s east coast, stretching from Brisbane in southeastern Queensland to Sydney in New South Wales. The weather system brought widespread hail, damaging winds and heavy rainfall, with the worst activity on November 24. During this period, hailstones up to 14cm in diameter were reported in parts of south-east Queensland.
In line with PERILS’ reporting schedule, the company confirmed that it will publish a further update on market loss estimates on November 27, 2026, 12 months after the end of the event.
Darryl Pidcock, Head of Asia Pacific and Networks, PERILS commented: “Industry losses have been quite stable compared to the second loss report issued three months after the event. These recent storms have shown that the key drivers of insured losses can vary between events. Although the hail was particularly large, auto claims accounted for a lower than usual share of total industry losses at 12%, well below the levels we typically observe. Instead, storm losses mainly affected residential properties and to a lesser extent commercial properties, reflecting the combined impact of damaging winds, heavy rainfall and large hail.”
Pidcock added: “The detailed losses included in this report, along with the observed storm intensity, provide us with valuable insights into how material differences can occur in the impact of South China Sea events on insured properties.”
PERILS originally released a preliminary industry loss estimate for the event in January 2026 at $2.663 billion, with subsequent updates reflecting continued claims development, with losses rising to $2.950 billion three months after the event before stabilizing slightly at the latest estimate of $2.943 billion, indicating relatively stable late claims development across the market.
