Community members located on the ‘wrong side of the levee’ have been offered a sliver of hope after the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) hosted an information session in Echuca on Wednesday, November 30.
Representatives from ICA, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, BlazeAid, Disaster Relief Australia and Loddon Campaspe Community Legal Centre were among those who presented during the information session.
About 20-25 community members were in attendance.
Liam Walter of the ICA said everybody who had been impacted by the floods and had insurance should be making a claim, regardless of whether they had flood cover or not.
He explained that once a claim was made, a hydrologist was then sent in to undertake an in-depth hydrology report.
The hydrologist will then determine whether the residence was damaged by storm water, floodwater or by both.
Mr Walter said it was “always worth putting in a claim” because even if a policy did not cover floods, there was still the potential for the policy to cover storm water damage.
When an audience member queried Mr Walter on whether this could mean that her property, which is located on the wrong side of the levee, could potentially receive coverage after having stormwater pumped in from the other side, Mr Walter said it was possible, but all depends on the policy.
Mr Walter said more than 17,000 claims had been made in relation to the October floods.
He highlighted the importance of not accepting a cash settlement if you are of the opinion that the amount offered will not cover the costs.
“You have a right to say no but you must have the evidence and the reasons to back your opinion,” he said.
Also discussed on the evening were the steps to take when making a claim and the guidelines that insurers must follow according to a code of conduct.
The presentation revealed that the insurer should be providing an update about the claim every 20 business days and claim decisions should be made within four months.
Changes to those deadlines are permitted when they cannot practically be met, for instance, if the property is not accessible.
During the evening a number of insurance companies held stalls for attendees to receive tailored advice.
Among them were Youi, Hollard, Suncorp Australia, RACV and Elders.