Suncorp CEO Steve Johnston today called for a renewed commitment to resilience and mitigation funding after visiting flood-ravaged Port Macquarie yesterday.
Mr Johnston said meeting with affected customers underlined the trauma associated with flooding events which in New South Wales is magnified given a similar event had occurred just four years ago.
“The devastation across the region is heartbreaking, my thoughts are with every individual and family impacted by these floods,” Mr Johnston said.
"My team and I are here to offer direct support, listen to their concerns, and ensure they have everything they need to live safely while we get going on rebuilding.”
Mr Johnston said that in recent years good progress had been made in increasing funding applied to mitigation initiatives but with every event, "it's clear more needs to be done”.
Suncorp has received more than 2,100 claims from this event across the Mid North Coast and Hunter region in New South Wales, including 1,600 home claims, 400 motor claims, and nearly 100 commercial property claims.
Suncorp's significant investments in disaster management resources and technology in the past three years has enabled a far more rapid and effective response to extreme weather events.
Suncorp CEO Steve Johnston
We have learned valuable lessons from past events, and those are directly translating into faster, more efficient support for our customers now.
“Our enhanced capabilities, including our Disaster Management Centre in Brisbane, allows us to monitor weather systems and respond in real time. For this weather event, we could identify and track flood levels down to street level, anticipate home impacts and proactively support our customers.”
Two Suncorp Mobile Disaster Response Hubs have been actively deployed in Port Macquarie and Taree since Wednesday 28 May, bringing on-the-ground assistance closer to affected communities and accelerating claim lodgement and support. This week the hubs are in Wauchope, Wingham, and the North Shore.
In the last six months these two Mobile Disaster Response Hubs have travelled more than 16,000 kilometres to help multiple disaster impacted communities.
To further bolster its customer response, Suncorp has expanded its home claims team by 150 permanent full time employees since 2022 and established an agile Lodgement Response Team capable of rapidly scaling up during major weather events.
“Our focus remains on continuous improvement, especially for complex natural disaster claims and our most vulnerable customers,” Mr Johnston said.
“We now have a dedicated team committed to these challenging situations, ensuring personalised and thorough support.”
Suncorp has also leveraged customer feedback to refine its resources, providing clearer fact sheets on critical topics such as the claims process, temporary accommodation options, and home maintenance post-disaster.
Suncorp CEO Steve Johnston meeting with team members in Wauchope.
Demonstrating its commitment to innovation, Suncorp is actively using AI and automation to expedite claims for immediate relief, such as food spoilage.
“Our AI-powered system successfully processed more than 7,000 food spoilage claims from ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred with zero manual intervention,” Mr Johnston said.
“This capability is game-changing, allowing us to get money into customers’ bank accounts on the same day they lodge their claim, providing crucial immediate relief.”
He said to improve insurance outcomes for Australians, governments, insurers, and local communities need to work together.
Suncorp CEO Steve Johnston
Suncorp remains committed to working hand-in-hand with governments and the broader insurance industry.
“We must collectively focus on enhancing our response to extreme weather events and, crucially, advocate for greater investment in preventative measures to build more resilient communities.”
A post-event assessment report released by Suncorp last month illustrated the insurer’s dedication to providing crucial support to customers before, during, and after extreme weather events.
Suncorp’s Beyond the Event report detailed the insurer’s impact and recovery efforts following ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred. It revealed not only the widespread damage caused by the system's relentless rain, destructive winds, and storm surges, but also the scale of Suncorp’s coordinated response.
