Hunter and Mid North Coast flood insurance claims surge to $194 million

newy.com.au – Insurance claims from last week’s Mid North Coast and Hunter storms have risen to $194 million after 11,547 policyholders lodged claims in the first half of 2025, the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) confirmed. The Hunter-centred disaster, forms part of a national insured-loss bill that has already topped $1.8 billion for the first half of the year.

A vigorous coastal low, rapidly intensifying into a so-called bomb cyclone, parked off the Illawarra late on 30 June before edging north-east, flinging heavy rain bands and gale-force winds across Newcastle and the Upper Hunter. Nobbys Head collected 56.6 millimetres in the 24 hours to 9 am on 1 July, the site’s wettest July day since 2017, while the signal-station anemometer cracked an 83 km/h westerly gust at 2.32 pm.

Wave buoys off the New South Wales coast captured maximum sets to about 13 metres, prompting Surf Life Saving NSW to warn rock-fishers and surfers to stay clear of exposed headlands.

The NSW State Emergency Service recorded 1,405 storm jobs and 22 flood rescues between midnight 30 June and noon 2 July, most in the Hunter and Mid-North Coast, while Ausgrid crews battled outages that at one point darkened more than 35,000 properties statewide.

Train commuters felt the impact too: floodwater at Sandgate and fallen trees on traction wiring at Dora Creek forced a day-long suspension of Hunter Line services on 2 July, with buses replacing trains until repairs finish later in the week. Local councils closed multiple low-lying roads and monitored Stockton’s freshly nourished dunes for erosion, but engineers reported no structural loss by dawn on 3 July.

“We’ve had a busy start to 2025 with three declared events totalling more than $1.8 billion in claims incurred to date,” ICA director of mitigation and extreme weather response Liam Walter said. “While this damage bill isn’t as severe as first expected, we acknowledge that for many communities, recovery is still very much ongoing and there is still a long road ahead.” He urged residents to follow emergency-service advice as the low moved south-east across the Tasman, adding: “Insurers are leaning forward and ready to support communities should they be impacted.”

The bureau expects lingering showers to drop another 10–15 millimetres on saturated Hunter catchments through 4 July. Geotechnical advisers say slip risk on ridge-top suburbs such as Charlestown and Adamstown Heights will remain elevated until soils begin to drain over the weekend.