Australian insurance companies pay out over half 1 bln AUD for summer disasters

Australia's insurance companies have paid out over half a billion Australian dollars in the country's four major disasters declared since November last year, with concern costs will climb as more claims are lodged.

Over the past seven weeks, significant wildfires continue to burn in the south and west of Australia while a tornado in Sydney caused destructive damage earlier in mid December, seeing insurers fork out 515 million Australian dollars (357.11 million U.S. dollars) in claims.

"Insurers are paying out more than 1.3 million Australian dollars each working day in repairs, building works, settlements and assistance to policyholders just for these four disasters," Insurance Council of Australia chief executive Rob Whelan said in a statement on Friday.

"That figure doesn't include the losses from many other smaller events, including recent flood and storm damage in parts of Sydney and the Hunter region."

A massive clean up is underway in New South Wales state following significant downpours and destructive storms that caused a sailor to be swept off his yacht on the mid-north coast.

Efforts were hampered this week when storms again battered the regional Sydney area and the Hunter Valley wine region.

Vineyards and wine makers in Australia's oldest growing regions fear the continued threat of bushfires on Australia's west coast while heavy rainfalls on Australia's eastern coast will undermine efforts to recover from a near decade-long run of low exports.

Australia's weather bureau said 200 millimeters, or twice the average rainfall for the month of January has fallen across Australia's eastern states over the past week, threatening the 2016 grape harvest that is only weeks away.

"We are on the edge, if we get more rain, we will start to develop disease and as soon as that happens, you will not be able to harvest the fruit," Australian Vintage Ltd chief executive Neil McGuigan said. Australian Vintage is one of the Hunter Valley's, 250km north of Sydney, largest wine producers.

Despite the scale of the damage across Australia this summer, which has only just reached its midpoint, Whelan said insurances had anticipated the potential for a destructive summer and the losses are within their expectations.