PERILS, an independent catastrophe data provider headquartered in Zurich, has released its third industry loss estimate for Cyclone Alfred, which impacted Queensland and New South Wales between late February and mid-March 2025.
The latest figure places the total insured loss at $1.92 billion, a decrease from earlier estimates of $2.57 billion and $2.25 billion, which were published six weeks and three months after the event, respectively.
The estimate encompasses losses from property and motor hull insurance, based on data collected from insurers operating in the affected regions.
The latest report offers a detailed breakdown of losses by four-digit postcode, with further segmentation into personal lines (70% of the total), commercial lines (26%), and motor lines (4%).
This granular data – when combined with the PERILS industry exposure database – provides insights into the susceptibility of insured property and motor assets to wind and flood damage in the impacted areas.
PERILS plans to release a fourth and final update on Cyclone Alfred’s market loss in March 2026, one year after the event’s conclusion.
Cyclone Alfred made landfall as a Category 1 system near the Gold Coast on March 7, after previously reaching Category 4 intensity while offshore. By the time it reached land, the cyclone’s wind strength had diminished, but it brought significant rainfall to Southeast Queensland and northeastern New South Wales.
According to Darryl Pidcock, head of Asia-Pacific & cyber at PERILS, the decline in reported losses and claims since the previous update may reflect conservative early reserving by insurers.
“Even though Alfred was a cyclone event, losses were primarily driven by intense and prolonged rainfall rather than by strong winds. Personal property lines are the main contributor to the losses, followed by commercial lines property, and to a much smaller degree motor losses, which only make up 4% of the total industry loss,” he said.
Pidcock also noted that the findings shed light on vulnerabilities in regions of southern Queensland and northeastern New South Wales that are not frequently exposed to tropical cyclones.
“Losses further south in New South Wales were primarily due to flooding as post-Alfred rainfall lingered for some days following landfall,” he said.
The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has reported that insured losses from extreme weather events in the first half of 2025 (1H 2025) have surpassed $1.8 billion.
Three major catastrophes – the Mid-North Coast and Hunter floods, North Queensland flooding in February, and Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred – accounted for the bulk of claims.
Cyclone Alfred alone generated more than 125,000 claims, with losses valued at $1.36 billion as of July 2025.
The North Queensland floods resulted in $274 million in losses from over 11,000 claims, while the Mid-North Coast and Hunter event led to approximately $200 million in losses across 11,500 claims.
Insurers have responded by initiating community outreach in areas such as Cardwell, Ingham, and Hervey Bay, and by establishing insurance hubs in Townsville, Taree, and Port Macquarie to support claimants during the recovery period.
