The cost of the damage from the devastating WA Perth Hills bushfire has already been placed at more than $13 million, and is almost certain to rise.
The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) confirmed that insurers had already received almost 300 claims, after 52 houses and two sheds were destroyed in the blaze that sparked on Sunday morning.
Campbell Fuller, the ICA's general manager of communications, said insurance companies were pouring every available resource into trying to help affected residents.
Insurance assessors were already aiming to get access to the fire grounds on Tuesday, to try to speed up claims for residents who lost homes.
A disaster recovery specialist from the council was also on the way to WA to assist in the aftermath.
The ICA immediately declared a catastrophe to escalate the insurance industry's response.
The owners of the 52 homes destroyed by the fire which quickly raged out of control on Sunday and into Monday will be taken to see the remains of their properties on Tuesday morning.
Small groups will be escorted through the fire-ravaged area by emergency authorities, with residents likely to be allowed in on their own later in the week.
That was confirmed after emergency authorities said the fire was officially under control, despite the possibility of flare-ups from gusty winds.
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