Six Months Since Cyclone Debbie

Tropical Cyclone Debbie swept the coast of Queensland and northern parts of New South Wales in March this year, with the category four storm causing widespread flooding and damage.

Properties, motor vehicles and public infrastructure were all affected by the storm, as well as our waterways, with rubbish being swept into the ocean and up the coast to the Whitsundays Islands.

The cyclone also caused dozens of ships to break away from their moorings, with a number of wrecks hitting the foreshore and even more debris, like fishing lines being washed into the ocean.

Tropical Cyclone Debbie and Insurance Claims

As a result of the widespread damage caused by Tropical Cyclone Debbie, 68,848 Debbie-related claims have been lodged and more than $5 million in payouts have been made each day to assist with recovery efforts at both an individual and commercial level.

With 75% of Cyclone Debbie claims now closed, we can report that more than 31,000 homes and businesses have been repaired or their owners have received a settlement, 20,000 families have had possessions replaced, and 4,500 vehicles have been repaired or replaced. The total losses are estimated to exceed $1.5 billion.

As a locally-owned and operated business, Sarina Insurance has played a big role in the claims process, with our clients lodging a total of 200 claims, most of which have now been finalised. We only have 11 Debbie-related insurance claims still open, which we plan to have finalised by Christmas (just in time for the next Cyclone season!).

If you need to update, renew or take out business or home and contents insurance to protect your assets come cyclone season, contact the team at Sarina Insurance today!