Insured losses from extreme weather surged more than eightfold in 2025 to $4.8 billion, new analysis from the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) shows, with Queensland accounting for more than $4.1 billion of the damage and November's hailstorms now eclipsing Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred as the costliest single event of the year.
The updated figures, released today, mark a 727% jump on 2024's bill and put fresh pressure on governments to lift spending on mitigation as the frequency and ferocity of storm events continue to confound forecasts.
“While Queensland is no stranger to extreme weather, four severe events impacting a single state in 12 months is significant, with many communities still on the road to recovery,” said Andrew Hall (pictured), the ICA’s CEO.
The severe storm and hail event that tore across Queensland and New South Wales in November has climbed to almost 93,000 claims worth $1.78 billion, overtaking Alfred at the top of the 2025 loss table. Damage ranged from dented car roofs and smashed windscreens through to uprooted trees and homes inundated with water — a claims mix that will be familiar to brokers fielding a spike in motor and home lodgements through the final quarter.
Earlier spring storms that battered South East Queensland and Northern NSW in the same month have since swelled to almost $900 million across 41,200 claims.
Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred, while no longer the costliest event by dollar value, still holds the unwelcome record for claim volume, with more than 133,000 lodgements totalling $1.5 billion.
The ICA's previous extreme weather update put 2025 losses at $3.5 billion. The step-up to $4.8 billion is largely driven by rising repair costs and continued claim lodgements from the two severe storm and hail events — a pattern the Council describes as typical of hail-driven catastrophes, where the true cost builds over months rather than weeks.
“Storms and hail are complex events that often have a long tail, meaning claims continue to grow months after the event as more are lodged and assessed,” said Hall
Factoring in broader economic impacts alongside insured losses, the total cost of extreme weather in 2025 is estimated at more than $8.6 billion.
Insurers handled roughly 294,000 claims from declared extreme weather events in 2025 — almost six times the prior year's tally — while the average cost per claim rose 39 per cent to $16,471.
The year-on-year volatility remains stark: insured losses from extreme weather stood at $2.35 billion in 2023 and just $585 million in 2024, underlining how difficult these costs are to model from one year to the next. For brokers, that unpredictability feeds directly into the reinsurance cycle and capacity conversations now shaping 2026 renewals.
The ICA argues the growing intensity and unpredictability of extreme weather demonstrates the urgent need for governments to invest in mitigation to protect Australia's most vulnerable communities.
“The most effective way to protect communities and ease cost pressures is to build the flood levees, dams and other large-scale infrastructure that keep homes and businesses out of harm's way,” said Hall.
The extreme weather bill sits inside a broader lift in claims activity. Australia's general insurers paid out $58.9 billion in claims in 2025 — up 18 per cent on the previous year — across 90 million policies, the equivalent of $226 million every working day.
For brokers, the figures sharpen two familiar conversations with clients heading into the new financial year: the case for robust sums insured in hail-exposed postcodes, and the long-run argument that mitigation investment — not just premium — is what ultimately stabilises cover in Australia's most disaster-prone regions.
