A Newcastle insurance management provider says the Boxing Day hail destruction may be even worse than a May storm that was declared Newcastle's worst hail event since 2006.
A wild storm pelted homes and cars across Maitland on the afternoon of December 26, with Rutherford the worst suburb hit. The State Emergency Service received more than 120 calls for assistance.
The Insurance Council of Australia has declared it a 'significant event' alongside other severe storms in NSW, Queensland and Victoria between December 23 and Boxing Day.
Rebuild Relief, which handles the insurance claim process for homeowners and provides property inspections, has received more than 40 inquiries since the storm.
General manager Harry Brown said the weather event produced larger hailstones than a storm on May 26, which hit from Fern Bay down to Terrigal with 2-5 centimetre hailstones.
"The Boxing Day hail storm had larger hailstones and stretched from Gosford to Maitland and then damaged pockets of Forster and Port Macquarie," Mr Brown said.
"We believe this storm could be larger than the May storm.
"The damage varies widely, from damaged roof structures, solar panels, vehicle damage to extensive structural damage in some properties.
"It's too early to estimate this storm however it's not uncommon for this type of storm to create more than 200 million dollars in damages.
"With building construction costs increasing year on year and yearly changes with local and national building codes, this drives the repair bill up as more work is required to make sure properties are repaired to the new building regulations and codes."
Insurance company Suncorp Group said more than 3,000 home and motor claims were lodged across NSW, Queensland, ACT and Victoria from from December 23-27.
"These storms have been destructive with cyclone level winds, large hail and heavy rainfall causing a lot of damage to some parts of the east coast," Mrs Smith said.
"The most impacted suburbs have been Rutherford in the Newcastle region, Runaway Bay and Coomera on the Gold Coast, Orange in the Central Tablelands of NSW, and Gatton in the Darling Downs of Queensland."
