Insurance Australia : Central West NSW floods and severe weather update for SA

IAG, whose brands include NRMA Insurance, CGU and WFI is supporting its customers impacted by the devastating floods in Central West New South Wales and severe storms in South Australia, on top of the recent floods in Victoria.

We urge anyone impacted by the current severe weather events and flooding to make safety their number one priority, listen to the advice of state SES and authorities and call 000 in an emergency and contact their insurer for immediate support.

The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has declared a Significant Event for parts of Central West New South Wales impacted by flooding since 12^th November.

There are currently 122 warnings across New South Wales including 25 emergency warnings. Evacuation centres are open in Forbes, Eugowra and Moama.

IAG Executive General Manager Direct Claims Luke Gallagher said:

"So many communities across the country have suffered severe flooding this year and it's devasting to see the impacts of major flooding in Central West New South Wales, with hundreds of flood rescues being undertaken in the past 48 hours. Our thoughts and condolences are with the people and communities who have lost loved ones and friends as a result of these floods."

"There are many tough days to come for these communities but we are here to help our customers impacted by the heavy rainfall and floods."

"We encourage customers who are safe and out of immediate danger to contact us online to lodge a claim or over the phone so we can provide essential support such as emergency temporary accommodation, payment support for customers staying with family or friends."

"We will also have our assessors and partner builders at their property as soon as it is safe to do so."

Severe weather and damaging storms have also affected South Australia in the past 72 hours, leading to power outages across 163,000 homes and businesses. To date, 4,700 properties remain without power.

Claims received from customers in South Australia have included damage caused by falling trees, lightning strikes and leaking roofs as a result of heavy rainfall.

South Australian customers should contact their insurer immediately to lodge claims related to the storm damage and temporary accommodation can be provided if required.

We also have the latest digital tools available to assess damage to properties as quickly as possible. For customers with a smartphone we can use 'virtual assessing' which allows customers to take photos and videos of damage to their home while speaking with one of our property assessors to provide the most efficient possible assessment online.

We can also use aerial imagery to assess external damage to properties to begin the assessment process, which also allows us to triage properties with critical damage.

"As Australia and New Zealand's largest general insurer, our dedicated Major Event Response team and National Repair model means we are well prepared to respond to multiple severe weather events across the country. We have our builders assessing damage to impacted homes across South Australia and Victoria, while ensuring there are adequate trades on standby to help customers affected by the unfolding flood situation in New South Wales and Victoria," Mr Gallagher said.

Since 12^th November, IAG has received 2,145 claims due to severe weather across South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales.

Claims by state:

South Australia - 1,296

Victoria - 439

NSW - 410