Initial Victoria figures released today revealed the estimated insurable value of claims arising from the Victorian floods is nearing $70 million.

The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) said members of the ICA have received 4,780 claims with an estimated insurable value of $69 million as of 31 January 2011.

As a percentage of the number of claims so far received, 48 per cent relate to residential property. Twenty two per cent relate to residential contents, while eight per cent. Another 8 per cent relate to commercial and domestic vehicles, and 14 per cent relate to other claims.

The scale of the floods in Queensland and Victoria is a natural disaster of historic proportions for Australia.

The floods continue to devastate as residents of small country towns around Swan Hill in northwest Victoria are settling in for a long, frustrating wait for an immense body of floodwater to peak.