A surge in claims has pushed the insurance costs of severe east coast storms to $235 million.
Insurers have now received almost 32,000 claims across Queensland, NSW, Victoria and Tasmania, and residents and business owners are still lodging claims, the Insurance Council of Australia said.
"Insurers have received very large claims for commercial and marine damage, substantially lifting the overall losses from these storms," ICA chief executive Rob Whelan said.
"About three quarters of all claims are domestic, and mainly relate to typical storm damage, although a small number of homes have been severely damaged and are temporarily uninhabitable."
Heavy rainfall, strong winds and king tides lashed the east coast almost a fortnight ago, leading to massive coastal erosion and causing fatal floods in Tasmania.
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Insurance costs have risen significantly from the initial $38 million bill estimated by ICA a week ago, but are still a fraction of the cost insurers had to bear from similar storms in April 2015.
Suncorp, the company behind AAMI and GIO, on Thursday said it expects to pay out between $60 million and $80 million in insurance claims related to the recent storms.
It also expects total natural hazard costs for the 2015/16 financial year to be broadly in line with its annual $670 million allowance.
Insurance Australian Group, the owner of the NRMA Insurance, Coles Insurance and CGU Insurance brands, last week estimated its costs from the storms to be between $60 million and $80 million.
