After heavy rains have decimated south-east Queensland and coastal New South Wales in the last month, many of us are keeping an eye to the skies and bracing ourselves for further disastrous effects from La Niña.
In late 2021, the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) foretold of a 65% increase in cyclone activity this storm season, signalling alarm bells for homeowners, insurers and brokers. Little did we realise how significant these predictions would be – rising death tolls, destroyed livestock and crops, and thousands of inundated homes and businesses, many of which were uninsured.
With these horrible impacts front of mind, let’s learn more about the infamous La Niña weather phenomenon and its consequences for the Australian insurance space.
What is La Niña?
According to BOM, La Niña (like El Niño) is actually a normal part of our natural weather cycle, driving climate variability and occurring roughly over a one-to-eight-year timeframe.
La Niña’s effects manifest in increased rainfall, a shift in extreme temps, earlier monsoon onsets and a greater number of tropical cyclones. This means we’re in for wetter and hotter summers, and more extreme storm seasons with potentially further catastrophic events like we’ve witnessed on the east coast.
What are the risks for property owners?
The impact of La Niña largely depends on the severity of the season. However, due to global warming, weather patterns and storm surges are gradually becoming more and more extreme. Severe weather can impact homeowners in a range of ways, from fallen trees on properties and homes, to flooding, shattered windows, blocked gutters and hail damage.
In order to avoid serious financial fallout during a storm season due to damage costs, it’s essential to review your insurance policy, ensure it’s up to date and is the right policy to adequately cover your property.
What does La Niña mean for the insurance sector?
When a La Niña cycle occurs, it’s tricky to predict the type or scale of weather events it might trigger, making it hard to pinpoint the effects on the insurance space.
Most commonly, extreme weather events create a large and rapid influx of property claims, placing great strain on insurance companies who not only need to process large volumes of claims, but also have a legal duty to process them in a fair and timely manner – even in the midst of a catastrophic event.
Presently, up and down Australia’s flood ravaged east coast, towns and cities are cleaning up and assessing flood-affected properties as the weather eases. The damage bill currently stands around $1.45 billion but continues to rise with residents in Brisbane, Lismore, Sydney and Penrith reeling.
So far, Insurers have received more than 96,000 claims, with 80% of those for homes. 69% of claims have come from Queensland, while 31% have come from NSW. With so many claims made, this means it may take weeks for insurers to start the assessment process, particularly for less severe cases.
Additionally, before and after a single major catastrophe, there are often a series of smaller weather episodes, such as consistent heavy rain, which occur. These added events can keep insurance agents busy throughout the entire summer period, placing further pressure on already strained insurance providers.
What can we do for you?
Morse Building Consultancy has been working alongside the insurance industry for over 15 years as a trusted leader in independent building damage, rectification, and compliance reporting.
Our knowledge and experience in disaster response is extensive. In fact, we provided building and engineering consulting services in the aftermath of the 2020 storms and floods, 2019-2020 bushfires, 2017 Cyclone Debbie, 2015 Cyclone Marcia and 2011 South-East Queensland floods and Cyclone Yasi.
With the effects of La Niña and global warming, the wild weather we’re experiencing is expected to continue, but the team at Morse Building Consultancy can mobilise and start inspections as soon as a location is deemed safe.
The team at Morse Building Consultancy have a high level of responsibility, as both the claimant and insurer rely on accurate, timely reports and depend on the knowledge and experience of the building or engineering consultant who is providing the service.
Morse Building Consultancy has a highly skilled team of professional, qualified, licensed building consultants and registered engineering consultants who have been carefully selected for their specific knowledge and experience within the building and construction industry.
Morse Building Consultancy receives requests to provide building and engineering consultancy services to not just insurers, loss adjustors, assessors, and other providers in the broader insurance industry, but from private clients too.
Having no affiliation with any insurer, loss adjustor or builder makes us one of a few truly independent building and engineering consultancy companies who provide services nationally. As Morse Building Consultancy does not undertake building or engineering works, it allows us to provide unbiased factual reports and scope of works.