05/12/2023
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ARE YOU REALLY PREPARED?
Many will be watching with some trepidation this week, as Cyclone Jasper is bearing down on the Qld coast, and may well make landfall in the coming days as a potentially major weather event.
I have seen a number of articles about being cyclone-prepared, and these are so important. But while you might be preparing for the cyclone event itself, are you “prepared” for a potential insurance battle in the aftermath of the cyclone?
Having helped literally thousands of people in North Qld over the past 7 years in the aftermath of Cyclone Debbie, Cyclone Marcia and the Townsville Floods, we have seen firsthand the importance of being prepared for a possible insurance claim.
I have outlined my TOP TIPS below, that you can start to implement NOW to ensure you are prepared for anything your insurer will try to throw at you, if you are in the unfortunate situation of having to lodge a cyclone claim for your property.
1. Insurers love sending “experts” to your property who often seem to have the goal of trying to find ways to attribute damage to anything other than the cyclone event. You may find an engineer or builder tries to suggest that the damage to your property has been there for years, even though they have never laid eyes on your property before. The best thing you can do NOW to protect yourself is to go out in the next day or two (BEFORE the cyclone) and take as many photos of your property as possible. Not just 20 or 30 photos, but hundreds if you can. Every surface, inside and outside, and if it is safe to get up on your roof, take 50 photos of your roof too. There is literally NOTHING more important than being able to show your insurer the state of your property BEFORE the storm event. And you can close the mouths of even the most ‘qualified’ engineer or builder who tries to convince the insurer that the damage was pre-existing, if you have the photographic evidence to prove that the property was not damaged at all.
2. This same principle applies for your contents. There is nothing more difficult than having to come up with a complete inventory of everything you own, in the event of a major loss. Take photos in each room, showing all of your contents items to make it easier to prove their existence, and the condition they were in prior to the cyclone, during the claim process.
3. If you have time in the next few days, get hold of a copy of your insurance policy PDS, and read through it to see what you are – and are not – covered for. It is likely too late to make changes to the policy so close to a potential cyclone, but at least if you know what you are covered for, you can be prepared. And take down the details of how to lodge a claim (phone contact, email, method of claim lodgment etc) so you are prepared in the event that you need to lodge a claim.
4. From the time of the cyclone, if your property is affected and you need to make a claim, take photos and make notes every time something happens. When you make notes immediately, they are known as “contemporaneous” and contemporaneous notes are seen as far more reliable than something that is written down long after the event. The photos you take in the aftermath, showing initial damage, spread of mould, etc can be so important if you have a claim dispute. These notes should include the full name and qualifications of every person your insurer sends out to your home. It is critically important to know who attended your property, what their qualifications are, and what they said or did whilst they were there.
5. Recognise that just because someone at your insurance company tells you something, doesn’t automatically mean they are correct. QUESTION EVERYTHING! Without exception. Even question advice that you receive (including the advice in this or any other article that you read!) – too often I see people accept what the insurer says in the first instance, and then later on realise that the advice was wrong or could be challenged. I would hope that insurers will do the right thing in this situation, should the cyclone cause damage and claims arise from the event. But I have been around long enough to know that many insurers will try to find any way possible to reduce or even deny your claim – they even have a fancy term for it, referring to “mitigation of loss”. Which means reducing the cost of your claim, sometimes by any means possible.
6. Finally, always remember that YOU are the manager of your claim. This is your property, the assets that you have spent much of your life purchasing, and no one else has a greater desire to see your assets protected than you do. Of course, you should cooperate with your insurer where possible, and I hope more insurers do the right thing this time, but ultimately you have to be happy with the outcome. Challenge anything you are concerned about early and often. And you will hopefully resolve most issues yourself, without needing an external advocate to ensure that your rights are protected.
Ultimately, if this cyclone does strike your area and if you need to lodge a claim, we are always here to help or provide advice. Just as we have helped multitudes of your friends, neighbours and fellow Queenslanders, we will be there again if Cyclone Jasper turns ugly and you need someone in your corner.
And even if this cyclone fizzles out as we hope it will, we are at the beginning of a long, hot summer and you may find another disaster event is just around the corner. These tips apply for cyclones, floods, bushfires or basically any other loss event too. Hopefully you never need to take advantage of the tips in this article, but if you do, you will be so glad you took the time to prepare yourself BEFORE the cyclone struck.
I would love it if you send this to as many people as possible, so more people can be truly prepared for the possible insurance battle ahead of them this coming summer.
(Note - photo was taken from couriermail.com.au via Google)
