Cyclone Seroja declared an ‘insurance catastrophe’ as claims soar in Kalbarri, Northampton and the Mid-West

Tropical Cyclone Seroja has been officially declared an “insurance catastrophe” with more than 700 claims having already been lodged by victims of the disaster. The Insurance Council of Australia made the declaration today ensuring claims from the impacted areas — including Kalbarri and Northampton where the majority of damage was caused — are prioritised by all insurers. ICA chief executive Andrew Hall said a dollar figure loss has yet to be established, with severely impacted areas still inaccessible. But the Insurance Information Institute suggests that an incident only be labelled a ‘catastrophe’ in the event that potential claims exceed $25 million. “(We) expect a substantial increase in claims as soon as telecommunications and power is restored in coming days,” he said. The move to declare it a ‘catastrophe’ comes as WA’s top cop revealed that miraculously only four people had received “minor cuts” as a result of the category three cyclone. Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said the the victims will need all the “support” they can get, adding it was “incredible” that so few had suffered injuries. “They’re clearly in a state of shock,” he told 6PR. “I had a number of people break down as I was talking to them, just generally, and I think that shock will be deeper when they realise ... the last 12 months have been the best they’ve had and now within a three hour period, suddenly, they see the road in front of them totally different. “To see devastation of peoples homes, businesses and to literally walk on the ground and see roofing timbers speared into the ground (was terrible).” Mr Dawson also commended a local police officer who lost his home and went back on duty the following day. “He was in one of those (whose) roof was ripped off, he had to move from room to room as walls were collapsing. “But I commended him and said mate, you’re here in uniform helping the community, and I know all his belongings were wet and saturated, and that was his only concern.” An ICA natural disaster specialist was dispatched to the affected area on Monday to work with local and state government agencies in their efforts to assist impacted communities. This is the third insurance catastrophe declaration for 2021. The first was the Wooroloo bushfires in early February where estimated losses currently stand at more than $85 million. The second was the floods in New South Wales and Queensland in late March, which has seen estimated losses of $600 million.