NSW: Insurance bill for bushfire damage not as high as 1994

AAP General News (Australia)
12-26-2001
NSW: Insurance bill for bushfire damage not as high as 1994

SYDNEY, Dec 26 AAP - The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) today reassured NSW residents
with bushfire-damaged homes that if the house was insured, it would be covered.

"They all are, always," said ICA spokesman Rod Frail.

However, not all of the almost 100 houses that burnt down would necessarily have been
insured, he said.

"We understand that some of those will be sort of bush shacks and holiday shacks that
may not be insured," he said.

He said the insurance bill was not yet as high as other recent natural disasters.

"Obviously, it is a tragedy for the people who are directly affected. It's not at this
stage a large disaster in terms of insurance," Mr Frail said.

"In January 1994 there were 400 houses destroyed or badly damaged."

The insurance bill for those bushfires was about $50 million, he said.

The freak hail storm that damaged hundreds of Sydney houses and cars in April 1999
cost insurers $1.7 billion, Mr Frail said.

Severe storms that hit Sydney on November 19 and December 3 had bills of $40 million
and $60 million, he said.

Meanwhile, the NSW government today established a Christmas fund for victims of the
NSW bushfires, donating $1 million to kickstart the appeal.

NSW Emergency Services Minister Bob Debus said people would be able to make donations
through a dedicated phone line.

AAP rk/arb/ph/br

KEYWORD: BUSHFIRES NSW INSURANCE

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