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Extreme Weather

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Have you suffered damage to your home, contents or motor vehicles after an extreme weather event? Whether you have been affected by a cyclone, bushfire, hailstorm, earthquake or flood, Financial Rights has information that can assist with insurance questions and related disputes. Choose from the fact sheets below for legal information, advice and assistance.
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Jane’s Story: Flood claim refused

Jane’s only income is a carer’s pension, and they are the main carer for their wife. In 2022 Jane’s home was damaged in the Victorian floods. As a result of the floods, water ponded underneath their home. This caused foundation movement and mould damage. Jane’s insurer declined the building claim, relying on a 72-hour earth movement exclusion and a mould claim based on a structural defect clause owing to the property not complying with the Building Code of Australia or the National Construction Code.

Financial Rights raised a complaint in the insurer’s internal dispute resolution, and then the Australian Financial Complaints Authority about their decision to decline the claim. The complaint resolved soon after it was escalated to AFCA. The insurer agreed to accept Jane’s claim, and pay $750 in compensation for non-financial loss. The claim’s estimated value was $40,000.

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Motor Vehicle Accident
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When to get help

Making an insurance claim can be stressful, particularly when you have been involved in a bushfire or flood. Insurance companies must treat you fairly and with compassion. If you recognise any of these common problems below, read through the fact sheets and use the sample letters selected. Give us a call if you don’t know where to start or can’t find a solution for your problem. Our Extreme Weather Guide & Insurance Claim Checklist might also help. Some of the insurance issues you might be experiencing include:

  • You’re running out of temporary accommodation, or constantly being moved to different places
  • You don’t know what’s happening with your claim and there are delays
  • The insurer isn’t accepting all or part of your claim, then saying that exclusions apply
  • Confusion over rainwater runoff versus flood damage.
  • Who pays for the damage from a tree falling during a storm?
  • Experiencing financial hardship after an extreme weather event.

At the Insurance Law Service we have a lot of experience taking disaster related calls

For example, in the 2021-2023 financial years we provided over 6000 insurance related legal advice services and over 2200 of those calls came through our Disaster Priority phone-line. In the 2022-2023 financial year our Disaster Priority phone line received 1347 calls, a 53% increase from the year before.

In the last 5 years we have provided legal advice services to Australians struggling after every major type of extreme weather event.

85 plus drought & earthquake, 235 plus bush, 335 plus hail, 750 flood and 1470 plus storm and cyclone legal services provided in November 2019 to September 2023*

* This Snapshot is missing 9 months of data (April 2021-January 2022) when we did not have the resources to track our disaster data by keyword. So, these service numbers are conservative.

Fact Sheets

These fact sheets will give more detailed legal information about insurance after an extreme weather event – such as bushfires or floods.

Sample Letters

You can use these sample letters to help you get in touch with your insurance when there is a problem.

Financial Counselling Australia coordinates the National Debt Helpline (NDH), which consists of a national phone service operating under the 1800 007 007 number and is complemented by the NDH website. 

Financial Rights is one of two services in NSW that answers the NDH. If you are struggling with debt, you can talk to a free financial counsellor over the phone on 1800 007 007.

NDH is a not-for-profit service that helps people tackle their debt problems. It is not a lender and does not ‘sell’ anything or make money from you. The NDH professional financial counsellors offer a free, independent and confidential service.

NDH is here to help you get back on track

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I am crying tears of relief. Thank you Destiny! You helped me draft a response that got unbelievable action after months of stress with them.