Allan Bush paid premiums for home and content insurance policy for more than 40 years without ever making a claim — until the 2022 floods destroyed his home in regional Victoria.

Instead of paying up, his insurer played hardball and denied the majority of his claim, offering him $1,633 for a damaged pump and $10,558 to cover temporary accommodation.

"It was really tough," he told the ABC. "I never raised my voice, I was always polite, but being told I wasn't entitled to my claim was hard."

Besides battling the insurer, relocating to a small cramped caravan on the property because his own home was uninhabitable, Mr Bush is dying of cancer. He said his insurer was aware of his health condition when he lodged his claim.

"The company lacks empathy," the 74-year-old said. "I had been a client for over 40 years and never made a claim. The assessors were rough. I think in cases like mine, for people unable to live in their house, there should be some empathy in dealing with us."

In November 2023, more than a year after lodging his claim, he received a full settlement of more than $500,000, which he says is largely due to the help of the Financial Rights Legal Centre, another solicitor and his local council.

"I never got a letter apologising for the delay. I suffered for a year. I believe some people suffered a lot worse than me."

Mr Bush is one of thousands of customers treated shabbily by general insurers, who have built a reputation playing hardball with customers at their weakest moments.

Some of the more unsavoury practices of the country's multi-billion-dollar general insurance sector were on full display at a government inquiry into the industry's handling of the 2022 floods, including delays, denials, predatory low-ball cash settlement offers and gaslighting.