Insurers, health funds, and industry bodies are rolling out claims and customer support measures as bushfires in Victoria and ex-Tropical Cyclone Koji in Queensland add to loss activity and operational pressures across the general and health insurance markets.
The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has declared a Significant Event for bushfires burning across Victoria since Jan. 7, 2026, including fires associated with a fatality in Longwood. The declaration activates the ICA’s preliminary catastrophe processes, allowing systematic claims data collection, analysis, and reporting with member insurers.
Under the Significant Event settings, the ICA is also working with government and emergency agencies to assess the impact on communities and to coordinate support. The declaration applies statewide and may be escalated to an Insurance Catastrophe if claim numbers or complexity rise materially. “Insurers’ first priority is community safety, and we strongly encourage all Victorians to follow the advice of emergency services. This Significant Event declaration extends to all of Victoria, allowing the ICA to monitor claims across the entire state. While it’s too early to estimate the total damage bill of these fires, insurers stand ready to assist impacted policyholders in their recovery,” said ICA director of mitigation and extreme weather response Liam Walter.
The ICA is advising affected households and businesses to contact their insurer as soon as it is safe to do so, even if they do not yet know the full extent of loss. Insurers are expected to deploy claims teams into fire-affected areas when access and conditions permit.
Insurance Australia Group (IAG) has deployed resources in fire-affected parts of Victoria and in regions exposed to Koji-related weather in Queensland. The group – whose brands include NRMA Insurance, CGU, WFI, Rollin’, RACQ Insurance, and RACV – has opened a mobile claims centre at Seymour Sports and Aquatics Centre (Chittick Park) in Seymour, Victoria, operating daily from 9am to 4pm. The centre is being used for claims lodgement, temporary accommodation arrangements, and emergency financial assistance, including for customers experiencing power or communication outages.
IAG executive general manager of claims Luke Gallagher said the group is concentrating on immediate assistance for affected customers. “IAG has been proactively reaching out to customers in Victorian communities affected by bushfires, arranging temporary accommodation, emergency financial assistance, and insurance claim support. Our Major Event Response Teams have begun property assessments and emergency repairs to help people impacted by these terrible bushfires to get back on their feet as quickly as possible,” Gallagher said.
Gallagher also urged residents across south-eastern Australia to remain alert as bushfire conditions persist across Victoria, New South Wales, and South Australia. IAG is monitoring both the bushfires and Koji via its 24/7 Major Events Command Centre and has indicated it will send further on-the-ground teams into heavily affected areas when it is safe.
Ex-Tropical Cyclone Koji weakened before landfall between Ayr and Bowen but continues to bring strong winds and heavy rain to parts of Queensland, with ongoing risk of flash flooding and property damage. “Severe weather warnings remain in place across the region with heavy rainfall and damaging winds likely to persist overnight. IAG is closely monitoring rainfall around the southern side of the tropical low, which presents the possibility of flash flooding for communities in and around Mackay,” said Kathryn Turner, IAG meteorologist and senior weather risk analyst.
Suncorp Group has reported early claims arising from Koji and the Victorian bushfires. As of 6pm AEST on Jan. 11, the insurer had received around 80 home and motor claims linked to ex-Tropical Cyclone Koji and about 60 home and motor claims related to the Victorian fires.
Suncorp CEO Steve Johnston said the company’s mobile disaster response hubs, assessors, builders, and customer support staff would enter affected communities when access is available. “We ask everyone to continue to put safety first, remain alert and listen to warnings and advice. Stay away from impacted areas – particularly if there has been flooding or where active bushfire alerts remain. Our thoughts are with the communities impacted, including Longwood in Victoria where there was a tragic loss of life. We encourage impacted customers to lodge their claims online as soon as possible. So far this has not resulted in material claims activity, but we are conscious that the weather system continues to impact communities along the Queensland coast with strong winds, heavy rainfall and flash flooding,” Johnston said.
Johnston said Suncorp’s regional office in Townsville provides a local base for supporting central and north Queensland customers. He also pointed to the federal Cyclone Reinsurance Pool, which provides cover for eligible home and small-business cyclone damage up to 10am AEST, Jan. 13.
The latest events overlay what Suncorp describes as a high first-half natural hazard burden. The group’s FY26 natural hazard allowance is $1.77 billion, and it expects 1H26 natural hazard costs of around $1.319 billion. These costs are driven by nine events with net losses above $10 million between July and November 2025, including hailstorms and severe thunderstorms in eastern Australia and New Zealand. Suncorp has indicated that the elevated peril activity is expected to increase the claims risk adjustment charge by about $35 million versus 1H25, affecting reported net incurred claims but not its view of the underlying margin. Its main catastrophe reinsurance program remains in place, with a current retention of $260 million for the next large Australian event. The group expects net investment income of about $250 million for 1H26, made up of approximately $160 million on insurance funds, a negative $50 million impact from discount unwind and rate changes on claims liabilities, and around $140 million from shareholder funds. The 1H26 results briefing is scheduled for Feb. 18, with no change signalled to the FY26 outlook.
In health insurance, HCF has announced temporary support measures for members directly affected by the Victorian bushfires, Koji-related flooding in Queensland, and other significantly impacted regions. The measures include:
“We can only imagine the difficulties our members are facing right now. These events have disrupted lives and added enormous stress. We hope this relief helps ease financial pressure so members can focus on recovery,” HCF chief operating officer Kevin Keane said. HCF is also advising members to be alert to scams and cyber threats during the recovery period and to verify any communications that purport to offer disaster assistance or financial relief.
For insurers, intermediaries, and reinsurers, the combination of bushfire and cyclone-related flooding illustrates overlapping catastrophe exposures across multiple states and product lines. The ICA’s Significant Event framework is supporting industry-wide claims data collection and engagement with government, while individual carriers are relying on mobile hubs, digital lodgement, and centralised disaster centres to manage higher claims volumes. Elevated aggregate natural hazard costs, combined with catastrophe reinsurance structures and risk adjustment movements, are likely to remain key inputs to pricing, capital management, and portfolio strategy through the second half of FY26 and into upcoming renewal periods.
