Catastrophe data aggregator PERILS has provided its first initial insurance industry loss estimate for the severe convective storms (SCS) that struck Australia’s East Coast in late October, at AU $1.108 billion (USD $736 million).Based on data gathered from the majority of impacted insurers, PERILS’ initial estimate of the insurance market loss resulting from the storms covers the property and motor hull lines of business.as the east coast of Australia experienced an extended duration of SCS activity until November 1st.As PERILS explains, the biggest impact from the event period took place on October 26th and impacted the greater Brisbane area in South East Queensland.

However, on the same day, a tornado struck the western suburbs of Melbourne in Victoria, which was followed by a period of more benign storm activity along the east coast.Then, on October 31st and November 1st, another round of severe thunderstorms hit South East Queensland, and to a lesser degree the state of New South Wales.“This is the first major severe convective storm activity to impact South East Queensland since the December 2023 Christmas Storms and the Halloween Storms of October 2020.

In addition, another major SCS outbreak in the Brisbane area occurred in late November, which PERILS is currently investigating.Putting this recent activity into context with historical records reveals an increase in the frequency of major SCS events in South East Queensland, an observation which is consistent with the global trend in SCS losses,” commented Darryl Pidcock, Head of Asia Pacific & Cyber at PERILS.Pidcock added: “In Australia, storm event definition clauses for reinsurance purposes vary and can include meteorological conditions and/or loss aggregation periods with the majority being 168 hours.

PERILS generally follows the predominant clause and therefore the losses from the storms are aggregated into one single insurance event for the period of 26 October to 1 November 2025.” PERILS has confirmed that an updated estimate of the insurance market loss from the Australia East Coast Severe Convective Storms will be published on February 1st, 2026, three months after the event end date..All of our Artemis Live insurance-linked securities (ILS), catastrophe bonds and reinsurance can be accessed online.Our can be subscribed to using the typical podcast services providers, including Apple, Google, Spotify and more.