?????????? ?????????? ???????????????? ?????????? – ???????????????????? ?????????????????? ??????????????????????!

We were dismayed to hear in the news overnight of a new flooding disaster unfolding on the South Coast of NSW. If you are caught up in the event or are in an area that may be affected in the coming days, you ???????????? need to read this critically important information.

Often, you have so much information coming at you that you don’t know who to listen to, or who to trust. At Solve My Claim, we have helped literally thousands of regular consumers like you to ensure that their insurance companies do the right thing and accept their claims, over a period of many years.

As a rule, if you take the right steps to gather evidence during the event itself, you will give yourself a much better chance of success if you have problems with your insurance claim down the track.

In essence, when you have an event like this one, there are two stages of the event. In the first stage, the heavy and consistent rains cause water to flow over the ground as the stormwater evacuation systems start to become overloaded. This groundwater flows along towards the natural watercourses (???????? ???? ????????????, ?????????? ??????), and can often flow through properties at that stage. This is referred to as “??????????” and is generally covered by ?????? policies.

Once that stormwater flows into the watercourses and they overflow, that rising water is what is referred to as “??????????”. Many policies cover flood, but there are some policies that don’t. This includes many strata insurers (???? ???? ?????? ?????? ???? ?? ???????? ???? ??????????????????, ?????? ?????? ???????? ???????? ?????? ???? ?????????????? ?????? ??????????) and commercial policies.

Once the water levels start to rise in the rivers, lakes and natural watercourses, all of the damage from there will likely be considered flood, and no longer storm damage. Therefore, it becomes critically important that you can show evidence of the source and the nature of the water inundating your property, if you can safely do so.

Your first and most important job is to check your policy – if you don’t have the PDS (???????????? ???????????????????? ??????????????????) handy, most insurers put these on their websites. They seem pretty daunting, but all PDS’s follow the same general format. You are interested in the section entitled “?????????????? ????????????” or something similar. Check to see if “??????????” is one of the insured events. Also, check what is included under “??????????”. These sections will contain inclusions and exclusions, and both are critical.

If your policy doesn’t cover “??????????”, your only chance to be able to possibly claim for some damage is to be able to present some sort of photo or video evidence that ground-water was flowing to the level of your house ???????????? the floodwaters rose from the rivers, lakes or other watercourses.

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Obviously, if you need to evacuate, do so. But if possible (?????? ???????? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????????????? ???????????????? ???? ?????????? ???????????? ???? ????????), take some photos or videos on your phone before you leave.

In particular, it is very helpful if you can get:

? Video or photos of clear water inundation (???? ?????????????? ???? ??????????, ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ???? ??????????????????????)

? Video or photos showing drainpipes (???? ???????? ????????????????, ?????????????? ??????) discharging before any floodwaters have entered your property

? Video or photos showing stormwater drains discharging in the streets immediately adjacent to your property

? Any other videos or photos showing the immediately surrounding area to your property

If you don’t have those photos or video, ask your neighbours and friends. If you can all start to share the evidence you each have of this event, you may be able to help many people.

The people of Townsville were in the same situation as you a little over 18 months ago. Many insurance claims were denied, or insurers tried to settle for unacceptable scopes of works. To date, we have been able to overturn several million dollars’ worth of denied flood claims for body corporates and commercial clients, because of the quality of evidence they could present to show that their property was inundated by stormwater ???????????? the subsequent floodwater inundation.

I cannot stress how important it is to consider obtaining as much evidence as you can, during the water event itself. You might assume your insurer will “do the right thing” and simply accept your claim. Many Townsville residents thought that too and were stunned and shattered when their claims were denied, or inadequate settlement amounts offered.

And as a final thought – if you have any problems with your claim at all, please feel free to call us on ???????? ?????? ?????? and one of our team will give you advice and guidance free of charge in the first instance.

You can also find out much more information to ensure you are properly prepared for this event through our Facebook page and our Townsville Flood Facebook Group.

Solve My Claim

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