Destructive hailstorms slash insurer firm's bottom line

Suncorp received 71,000 natural hazard claims in the half-year to December and paid $1.3 billion. (AAP PHOTOS)

Shareholders in one of the nation's biggest insurers will receive a slashed payout after destructive storms contributed to a massive drop in interim profit.

Suncorp on Wednesday reported a 76 per cent fall in net profit for the six months to December 31 to $263 million, from $1.1 billion a year ago, after paying out tens of thousands of claims related to the storms.