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Top 10 storm hotspots – is your home covered?

Mark Bristow avatar
Mark Bristow
- 4 min read
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New research has revealed the locations in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland that were hit hardest by wild weather over the past financial year. With Australia coming into an El Nino summer, it’s important to make sure your home insurance is prepared, especially if you’re living in one of these areas.

The research from Suncorp Group and AAMI looked at weather-related home insurance claims between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2023. This analysis was backed up by SES calls for assistance in some of these states.

New South Wales

In New South Wales, AAMI found almost half of the most storm-affected suburbs in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, with three more hotspots found on the central coast. Newcastle and Lake Macquarie were also on the top ten list for the SES, but were topped by Port Macquarie.

AAMI's top 10 storm hotspots in NSW

Rank

Hotspot suburb

Region

1.

Dubbo

Far West & Orana

2.

Bateau Bay

Central Coast

3.

Belmont

Newcastle & Lake Macquarie

4.

Port Macquarie

Mid North Coast

5.

Tuggerah

Central Coast

6.

Swansea

Newcastle & Lake Macquarie

7.

Mereweather

Newcastle & Lake Macquarie

8.

Charlestown

Newcastle & Lake Macquarie

9.

Gosford

Central Coast

10.

Sanctuary Point

Southern Highlands & Shoalhaven

NSW SES Top 10 storm hotspots in NSW

Rank

Hotspot suburb

Region

1.

Port Macquarie

Mid North Coast

2.

Dubbo

Far West & Orana

3.

Forbes

Central West

4.

Wahroonga

Upper North Shore

5.

Orange

Central West

6.

Swansea

Newcastle & Lake Macquarie

7.

Bowral

Southern Highlands

8.

Armidale

North Western

9.

Broken Hill

South Western

10.

St Ives

Upper North Shore

Queensland

Suncorp’s data found that half of Queensland’s top 10 storm battered suburbs were in Wide Bay. Rain was found to be the most common cause of damage, followed by hail and flood.

Suncorp Insurance's top 10 storm hotspots in Queensland

Rank

Hotspot suburb

Region

1.

Maryborough

Wide Bay

2.

Cooloola Cove

Wide Bay

3.

Mackay

Mackay

4.

Toowoomba

Toowoomba

5.

Gympie

Wide Bay

6.

Gladstone

Central Queensland

7.

Bundaberg

Wide Bay

8.

Yeppoon

Central Queensland

9.

Hervey Bay

Wide Bay

10.

Highfields

Toowoomba

Victoria

Both AAMI and the VICSES found that three of Victoria’s top 10 storm-battered suburbs were located in Shepparton, with other hotspots including Mornington, Croydon, Craigieburn, Mooroopna and Mount Martha.

AAMI’s Top 10 storm hotspots in Victoria

Rank

Hotspot suburb

Region

1.

Shepparton

Shepparton

2.

Rochester

Shepparton

3.

Craigieburn

Melbourne - North West

4.

Mooroopna

Shepparton

5.

Mornington

Mornington Peninsula

6.

Caroline Springs

Melbourne - West

7.

Croydon

Melbourne - Outer East

8.

Mount Martha

Mornington Peninsula

9.

Werribee

Melbourne - West

10.

Hamlyn Heights

Geelong

Vic SES’ Top 10 storm hotspots in Victoria

Rank

Hotspot suburb

Region

1.

Benalla

Hume

2.

Echuca

Shepparton

3.

Lilydale

Melbourne - Outer East

4.

Shepparton

Shepparton

5.

Mildura

North West

6.

Mornington

Mornington Peninsula

7.

Croydon

Melbourne - Outer East

8.

Craigieburn

Melbourne - North West

9.

Mooroopna

Shepparton

10.

Hamilton

Warrnambool

Is your home ready for a storm?

Suncorp executive general manager of home claims customers, Alli Smith, says that this data should encourage all Australians to prepare where they can in advance of storm season, even if their suburb isn’t listed as a hotspot:

“When times are tough, it can be hard to prioritise things like home maintenance, particularly spending money on improving the resilience of your home. However, many of these tasks don’t cost or take long, and can be well worth the investment to strengthen the resilience of their biggest asset.”

Suncorp’s top tips to prepare for storm season 

  • Securing and putting away loose items around your backyard or balcony.
  • Trimming trees and branches that could fall onto your home or car.
  • Cleaning your gutters, downpipes and drains of leaves and debris.
  • Parking your vehicles under cover and away from trees or powerlines.
  • Inspecting retaining walls.
  • Ensuring there’s no corrosion, loose fittings or rotting timber around your property.
  • Inspecting your roof for damaged or loose tiles.

As well as preparing your home for a storm, it’s important to check your home insurance policy to make sure you have sufficient coverage in case you are struck by storms or floods, regardless of where you’re living in Australia. Be sure to check the PDS and compare policy options from alternate insurers to work out if you could be getting a deal that’s better-suited to your situation. You don’t have to wait for your policy’s renewal date - you can switch home insurance any time if you choose.

Compare home insurance

Product database updated 14 Dec, 2024

This article was reviewed by Personal Finance Editor Alex Ritchie before it was published as part of RateCity's Fact Check process.

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