Jan 3 (Reuters) - Australian insurer Suncorp Group Ltd SUN.AX said on Thursday that it had received about 24,800 claims following a Sydney hailstorm and expects this number to rise over the coming weeks as customers return from holidays.
Total claims costs are now likely to exceed the maximum first event retention within the insurer's reinsurance programme, which limits the financial impact of the event to A$250 million ($173.5 million) pre-tax, Suncorp said in a statement.
Suncorp expects total natural hazard costs of A$600 million to A$610 million for the half ended Dec. 31, 2018.
($1 = 1.4411 Australian dollars)