Insurance companies say the cost of meeting claims to do with the flood will easily exceed claims of almost €100m in August 2008.
Over the weekend, insurance firms rostered extra staff to deal with the level of calls from policy holders, and staff have been asked to assess claims as quickly as possible.
The Irish Insurance Federation's Michael Horan says it is too early to estimate the cost of last week's floods as claims are still coming in. He says, however, that they are likely to exceed the €96m paid out in last August - a record payout at the time.
He says it normally takes two to three weeks to work out the damages. He says that after claims are sent in, insurance companies send assessors down to inspect the property and assess the extent of the damage and put an accurate estimate on the amount of damage.
UK flood claims to be less than in 2007
Meanwhile, the Association of British Insurers has said the British insurance industry faces a hit of up to £100m from last week's floods in northern England.
The total insured loss will be in the range of £50m to £100m, based on the current tally of about 1,000 claims, an ABI spokesman said, adding that the damage estimate could be revised in the days ahead. The latest loss estimate falls far short of the £3 billion bill picked up by the insurance industry following severe flooding in the summer of 2007.
Hundreds of people were rescued by emergency services in Cumbria, northern England, on Friday after heavy rain triggered what Britain's Environment Agency described as a 'one in 1,000 year' flood.
