Monday, 1 November 2021

The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has today extended the Insurance Catastrophe declared for South Australia last Friday to include those areas of Victoria and Tasmania affected by the same storm cell late last week.

The ICA’s declaration of an Insurance Catastrophe serves to escalate and prioritise the insurance industry’s response for affected policyholders.

Insurers have received almost 24,000 claims from South Australian policyholders however this number is expected to rise over coming days. Approximately two thirds of claims received so far are for motor vehicle damage.

Victorian policyholders have lodged almost 12,000 claims over the past three days, with most claims for home property damage including from fallen trees.

Around 100 claims have been received from policyholders in Tasmania.

Insurers are advising that given the timing of last week’s storms it is likely many impacted properties will not be repaired in time for Christmas.

Apart from the time of year, repairs have also been impacted by factors including a shortage of tradespeople, a shortage of goods, and COVID border restrictions impacting the movement of assessors and tradespeople around the country.

The ICA is warning that the destruction left by the storms in South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania may lead to ‘disaster chasers’ moving into affected areas in coming days and weeks with an eye to take of advantage of the owners of damaged homes.

Disaster chasers may offer tree and debris removal for up-front cash payment but can leave without doing the work or the work has been poor or is incomplete.

Disaster chasers may offer to undertake home inspections or repairs for cash and may not have a building licence, trade qualifications, professional indemnity insurance or an ABN. In the past some have used intimidation tactics to demand money.

Tips for identifying and dealing with a disaster chaser:

• An insurer will not send a tradesperson or builder to your home without notifying you and providing you with details.
• Speak to your insurer before agreeing to any repairs or rebuilding work to make sure your insurer will cover the work.
• If in doubt, ask for identification such as a builder’s or driver’s licence, and ring your insurer to check.
• If you sign a contract with a disaster chaser, you have a 10-day cooling-off period. Your insurer can help you end the relationship with the disaster chaser.

Quote attributable to Andrew Hall, CEO, Insurance Council of Australia:

Thousands of claims have now been lodged by South Australian, Victorian, and Tasmanian policyholders.

Unfortunately, ongoing supply chain and labour issues in the building sector may lead to delays in repairs and rebuilds.

Insurers are currently utilising local assessors and tradespeople to support the claims process, however we anticipate the need to deploy up to 80 specialist assessment and recovery personnel from other states.

We are working with state governments to ensure these insurance disaster responders are able to safely travel across borders and support customers.

With border restrictions still in place the ICA is calling on state and federal governments to urgently agree to a nationally consistent approach to the movement of fully vaccinated insurance disaster responders across state borders.

Thousands of properties in Victoria have experienced power outages, and customers who have sustained extended power outages may be able to claim for food spoilage.

Friday, 29 October 2021

The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has declared an Insurance Catastrophe for parts of South Australia impacted by significant hail, rain, and strong winds in the past 24 hours.

Insurers have received more than 12,000 claims so far and this number is expected to rise over coming days.

At this time, most claims are from policyholders from areas including the Barossa Valley, Elizabeth, the Adelaide Hills, Salisbury, Craigmore and surrounds.

Motor vehicle claims are two thirds of those currently lodged. It is expected crop losses from the Barossa Valley region will be substantial.

Insurers currently anticipate the need to deploy up to 80 specialist assessment and recovery personnel from interstate, including from Victoria and New South Wales.

Under South Australia’s current border regime these insurance disaster responders would be subject to a range of restrictions, including prohibiting entry altogether or having to quarantine for 14 days.

The ICA is engaging with the South Australian Government to allow these essential personnel to enter South Australia to operate and support impacted communities in their recovery.

The ICA will continue to monitor the impact of storms and strong winds in Victoria to ascertain whether the Insurance Catastrophe declaration should be widened to include impacted areas in that State.

The ICA’s Catastrophe Declaration serves to escalate and prioritise the insurance industry’s response for affected policyholders.

Under the Catastrophe declaration:

• Claims from affected policyholders will be given priority by insurers
• Claims will be triaged to direct urgent assistance to the worst-affected property owners
• The ICA’s disaster hotline has been activated 1300 728 228 to assist policyholders if they are uncertain of their insurance details or have general inquiries about the claims process (please note: this is not a claims lodgement service)
• ICA representatives will be mobilised to work with local agencies and services and affected policyholders as soon as emergency services say it is safe to do so
• Insurers will mobilise disaster response specialists to assist affected customers with claims and assessments as soon as emergency services say it is safe to
• An industry taskforce has been established to identify and address issues arising from this catastrophe
• The insurance industry has made this Catastrophe Declaration to activate services and support for affected homeowners and businesses and reassure them that their insurer is there to help

Quote attributable to Andrew Hall, CEO, Insurance Council of Australia: 

Insurers’ first priority is community safety, and so we strongly encourage all those impacted by this storm event to ensure they do not undertake any activity themselves that may put their safety at risk.

It’s too early to understand the extent of the damage to property and crops in affected areas or to estimate the insurance damage bill.

The insurance industry typically mobilises hundreds of staff from other jurisdictions to areas impacted by a natural disaster to assess damage and commence repairs and recovery.

Families, businesses, and communities rely on insurance disaster responders from interstate in the aftermath of severe weather events – without them, recovery is delayed with significant personal, social, and economic impacts.

The industry is facing constraints deploying staff into South Australia due to the State’s border arrangements and is engaging with the State Government to ensure this does not slow the assessment and repair process.

Insurance and storm damage

• Safety is the priority – don’t do anything that puts anyone at risk, particularly climbing on the roof to check damage
• Contact your insurance company as soon as possible to lodge a claim and seek guidance on the claims process
• Property owners who have sustained roof damage should advise their insurer, your insurer will arrange emergency works to minimise any hazards and prevent further damage. This can include isolating damaged solar panels or electrical circuits and installing a roof tarp.
• You can start cleaning up but first take pictures or videos of damage to the property and possessions as evidence for your claim
• Keep samples of materials and fabrics to show your insurance assessor
• Remove water damaged goods from your property that might pose a health risk, such as saturated carpets and soft furnishings
• Make a list of each item damaged and include a detailed description, such as brand, model and serial number if possible
• Store damaged or destroyed items somewhere safe
• Speak to your insurer before you attempt or authorise any building work, including emergency repairs, and ask for the insurer’s permission in writing. Unauthorised work may not be covered by your policy
• Do not throw away goods that could be salvaged or repaired

Wednesday, 27 October 2021

Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) figures released today show that almost 90 per cent of Halloween Hailstorm insurance claims have now been closed.

Sunday will mark one year since the devastating storm that resulted in more than $1 billion in claims, with 88 per cent of those claims now resolved.

More than 44,000 claims for storm and hail damage from the 31 October 2020 extreme weather event have been lodged with insurers. Claims are still being lodged, with 1,000 claims submitted in the past eight weeks.

The $1.08 billion in insurance claims includes:

• 17,500 private and commercial motor vehicle claims
• 20,660 home building claims for damage to roofs, solar panels, guttering, walls, and internal water damage
• 4,500 home contents claims
• 1,400 commercial property and crop claims

Over the past 12 months the ICA has hosted three community events to provide guidance and assistance to local policyholders via hundreds of in-person consultations for policyholders.

While insurers have made significant progress over the past two months and expect to finalise further claims in coming weeks, claims processing following the hailstorm was impacted by external factors, including:

• A shortage of builders, roofers and tradespeople available for repair work
• Shortages of timber, roof tiles and other essential building materials
• COVID border restrictions impacting the movement of insurance personnel into SE Queensland

The insurance industry typically mobilises up to 500 staff after a natural disaster to support recovery efforts but is still facing constraints deploying staff into Queensland should a disaster of the scale of the Halloween hailstorm occur before the State’s borders open on 17 December.

Quote attributable to ICA CEO Andrew Hall:

Insurers have been working hard to catch up on claims processing and it’s pleasing that we’re now at a closure rate of almost 90 per cent.

However, the Bureau of Meteorology has said widespread flooding, coastal flooding and erosion, tropical cyclones, and marine heatwaves are all more likely over coming months.

Families, businesses, and communities rely on insurance disaster responders from interstate or overseas in the aftermath of natural disasters – without them, recovery is delayed with significant personal, social, and economic impacts.

That’s why the ICA has called on state and federal governments to urgently agree to a nationally consistent approach to the movement of fully vaccinated insurance disaster responders across state borders.