Acting Executive General Manager Home Claims Customers Cath Stewart said Suncorp’s Severe Weather Meteorologist and Forecaster were closely monitoring weather conditions across Australia in the insurer’s Brisbane Disaster Management Centre.
“We are keeping a close eye on the unfolding extreme weather situation and have our five Mobile Disaster Response Hubs, customer support teams, assessors and builders ready to deploy,” Ms Stewart said.
“North Queensland has already received significant rainfall over recent weeks, so we are very alert to the compounding impacts of more weather.
“Bushfires are active in multiple regions across Victoria, and we are expecting further activity over coming days as the state faces the worst fire threat since Black Summer.
“Our Mobile Disaster Response Hubs are on standby to deploy to both North Queensland and Victoria to give our customers a place to meet face to face with our team and get their claim process started.
"We can also utilise our Townsville regional office to provide greater insights and communication with local customers and stakeholders.”
With active extreme weather across both states, Ms Stewart said community safety was a priority for the insurer.
“Right now, our immediate focus is safety, and we urge everyone to follow the advice of emergency services and stay informed through official warnings and advice,” she said.
“Impacted customers can easily lodge their claims online for all our brands, and our claims contact centres are available 24/7 to provide support.”
Suncorp Severe Weather Meteorologist Andrew Bufalino said extreme to catastrophic fire dangers were forecast to develop across South East Australia today, while an increased heavy rainfall risk was expected across parts of Queensland through the weekend.
“A tropical low off the Cooktown coast is forecast to move southwest and cross the tropical coast over the weekend, producing heavy to intense rainfall across eastern and central parts of Queensland," Mr Bufalino said.
"While uncertainty remains regarding the system’s exact track, communities are urged to stay up to date with the latest forecasts and warnings.
“Very hot, dry and windy conditions, combined with dry thunderstorms, are expected to lead to highly volatile fire weather conditions across South East Australia.
"These are likely to be some of the worst conditions seen in years, particularly across Victoria.”