Insurance Australia Group (ASX: IAG) issues an IAG weather event update following severe storms across Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria. The Company activates emergency response systems whilst maintaining upgraded FY26 guidance despite significant insurance claims after QLD storms impacting multiple brands.
Figure 1: Insurance Australia Group (IAG) logo displayed against a corporate backdrop
IAG Managing Director and CEO Nick Hawkins leads the coordinated response. The insurer’s IAG catastrophe reinsurance cover demonstrates its value, capping net costs and protecting financial stability as severe weather tests operational resilience.
Insurance Claims After QLD Storms Surge Past 10,000
The latest IAG weather event update confirms the Company has received over 10,000 claims across its brand portfolio since the Annual General Meeting on 23 October 2025. Approximately 5,800 claims come from RACQ Insurance customers alone, reflecting concentrated storm activity in South-East Queensland. The majority of insurance claims after QLD storms relate to motor and property hail damage.
IAG activates its Major Event Command Centre immediately, coordinating the deployment of property assessors and partner builders to conduct Make-Safe repairs across impacted areas. Specialist Hail Repairers contact affected customers to commence vehicle restoration work following the damaging weather events.
Figure 2: State Emergency Service teams clear debris after intense weather
The Company leverages technology, combining real-time hazard intelligence with customer data. This advanced system successfully prioritises emergency repairs and enables IAG to proactively contact customers who have yet to lodge insurance claims after QLD storms. Teams establish physical presence in Jindalee, one of Brisbane’s worst-impacted areas. On-ground staff help customers lodge claims in person, whilst IAG supports vulnerable customers by providing temporary accommodation where necessary.
Nick Hawkins comments in the IAG weather event update: “Since our AGM on 23 October, we’ve seen several significant weather events across Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria. Our teams have been on the ground in Jindalee, one of the worst-impacted areas in Brisbane, to help customers lodge their claims in person, and we are supporting vulnerable customers by providing temporary accommodation where necessary.”
IAG Catastrophe Reinsurance Cover Shields Financial Impact
IAG’s IAG catastrophe reinsurance cover architecture significantly reduces the financial burden of these natural peril events. For IAG’s owned and partner brands in Australia and New Zealand, excluding RACQI, long-term reinsurance arrangements provide substantial downside protection against natural peril events exceeding the full year non-RACQI perils allowance of $1,316 million.
Whole-of-account quota share arrangements combine with IAG catastrophe reinsurance cover to deliver approximately $1 billion of downside protection for non-RACQI natural perils costs. This layered approach demonstrates a prudent risk transfer strategy in an environment where natural catastrophe losses continue to escalate.
Figure 3: Close-up of hailstones in hand.
Following the acquisition of RACQI on 01 September 2025, IAG maintains the separate standalone reinsurance programme comprising quota share and catastrophe protections. This structure caps the net costs of the first event, severe storms and hail in South-East Queensland around 23 October 2025, to $65 million.
Further, IAG catastrophe reinsurance cover protections reduce the net RACQI costs of a second event to $42 million. This reduces further to $33 million for the third and fourth events under the current standalone RACQI reinsurance programme. IAG indicates its intention to bring the reinsurance arrangements together over time, optimising coverage across the enlarged group.
FY26 Guidance Maintained Despite Weather Events
The latest IAG weather event update confirms the Company retains upgraded FY26 guidance outlined at its Annual General Meeting on 23 October 2025. Excluding the benefit of RACQI and RAC Insurance acquisitions, IAG expects reported insurance profit of $1,450 million to $1,650 million, roughly equating to a reported insurance margin of 14.0% to 16.0%.
This assumes FY26 natural peril costs of $1,316 million, no material prior period reserve releases or strengthening, and no material movement in macro-economic conditions, including foreign exchange rates or investment markets. The FY26 perils allowance represents an increase of approximately 3% from FY25, reflecting growth in aggregate exposure in line with the attachment point for perils volatility cover.
Figure 4: Hail-damaged vehicle following severe Queensland storms
IAG expects GWP growth of low-to-mid single digit for FY26. At the divisional level, the Company guides to Retail Insurance Australia growth of mid-single digit growth, Intermediated Insurance Australia growth of low-single digit growth, and New Zealand GWP to remain relatively flat.
Including the RACQI acquisition, which completed on 01 September 2025, IAG guides to overall GWP growth of approximately 10%. The Company’s FY26 guidance and strategic acquisitions align with targets of delivering 15% reported insurance margin and 15% reported ROE on a through-the-cycle basis.
Market Performance and Valuation
IAG shares trade at AUD 7.910 per share, with the Company commanding a market capitalisation of AUD 18.59 billion. The stock has traded within a 52-week range of AUD 7.100 to AUD 9.210 per share, reflecting investor confidence in the Company’s strategic direction and operational performance despite the recent insurance claims after QLD storms.
Figure 5: IAG share price trend from August to November
The Company’s reported ROE reached 19.4% for FY25, up from 13.5% in FY24. This strong return profile, combined with disciplined capital management through IAG catastrophe reinsurance cover and organic growth initiatives, positions IAG to continue delivering sustainable shareholder returns whilst managing through natural peril volatility.
