‘Catastrophic’ south-east Queensland storms lead to thousands of insurance claims, homes deemed ‘unliveable’

Homes in south-east Queensland pummelled by enormous hailstones on Saturday have been deemed “unliveable” with insurers warning residents to beware of “disaster chasers” preying on vulnerable households.

The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) said more than 8,500 claims had been lodged, with estimated insurance losses exceeding $110 million.

RACQ spokesperson Renee Smith said the insurance company was receiving about 100 damage claims an hour.

“The majority of our claims are for motor vehicle damage but some of the…