Australian insurer Suncorp Group ( SUN.AX ) said on Thursday it has received since September 2,600 bushfire-related claims worth up to A$345 million ($237.05 million), of which nearly a third was recorded in the first few days of the month. Suncorp on Thursday joined its larger rival Insurance Australia Group ( IAG.AX ), which flagged costs of A$280 million last week related to the bushfires, which have scorched huge swathes of land killing 26 people and killing or injuring an estimated one billion animals, including livestock. Although wildfires in summers are not uncommon, the current bushfire season started earlier than normal following a three-year drought that has left much of the country’s bushland vulnerable to such calamity. As the intensity of the fires peaked last week, Suncorp said it received claims worth as much as A$105 million in the first five days of January, taking the total […]