Extreme weather events cost $3.5 billion in insured losses as hailstorms lashed Australia in 2025, more than five times higher than the previous year.
Five severe or catastrophic weather events prompted 264,000 insurance claims last year, data from the Insurance Council of Australia shows.
Those events were north Queensland floods in February, ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred in March, NSW's mid north coast floods in May and two severe hailstorms in October and November.
The two hailstorms in Queensland and NSW alone accounted for more than $1.4 billion in damage, according to the council's statistics released on Friday.
"Damage from the hailstorms of October and November last year ranged in severity, from hail dents on motor vehicles to roofs torn off by strong winds," an insurance council spokesperson told AAP.
"Many solar panels were also damaged as a result of large hail stones."
Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred in Queensland was the single costliest event of 2025, with $1.5 billion in losses across 132,000 claims.
Severe storms that lashed southeast Queensland and northern NSW from the end of October to early November resulted in $601 million in claims.
More severe storms and hail impacted the two states, causing $814 million in incurred losses in late November, with the two events totalling $1.4 billion.
The figures mark a sharp increase from $581 million in insured losses in 2024 and exceed the $2.35 billion recorded in 2023.
Other smaller but locally severe disasters from 2025, including flooding in western Queensland in March and bushfires in Halls Gap in February, were not captured in the insurance council's data.
"Insurers expect further claims will be made from these events, meaning the eventual cost of extreme weather in 2025 will grow," the council said.
It said insurers were prioritising claims from severe events in early 2026, including bushfires in Victoria and monsoonal weather in northern Queensland.
